Dickbag, the musical
by kitachu
Summary: Au-She's a coldhearted and prickly jerk. He couldn't care less and wheedles his way into her heart. She calls him a dickbag throughout the entire process.
1. Chapter 1

**I got bored with the other one, so here's this one.**

 **Dickbag is an insult I use all the time and I have been obsessed with it lately.**

* * *

"Who are you?" a rather rough looking girl shoved her way into the small room. The girl she'd spoken to narrowed her eyes and didn't look away from the bed she was making.

"I assume your roommate," she finally said. "Sakura," she still didn't look at her. The other girl was standing with her hands on her hips. She scoffed and rolled her eyes, moving to the other bed in the small room.

"I'm Tenten. I'm not mad at you, really." Her voice was still hard and she didn't seem very apologetic. "I was supposed to get my own room this year, but I guess they couldn't swing it. Are you a scholarship kid too?"

"Yes," Sakura threw her comforter over the bed.

"Good shit. You're going to be stuck in the dorms until you graduate, too," the older girl made a face and began pulling things out of boxes that she'd stacked on top of the bed earlier. Sakura laid on her made bed. She hadn't brought much with her. Her meager amounts of clothes were already in the closet and her things were put away in the small desk against the wall at the end of her bed. She got out a book to read. "You hungry?"

"Hm? No," she had a good stash of snacks under her bed so she wouldn't have to go down to the dining hall any time soon. She didn't think she could deal with all those people. She could hardly deal with all the people in this dorm building. They were all milling about in the hallways, talking and playing music, trying to introduce themselves to anything that moved. She wasn't that interested in people. She quite liked being left alone.

"Alright then." Tenten grabbed a bag and headed for the door, slamming it shut behind her. Sakura didn't even flinch. Sakura let out a relieved sigh when the girl finally left and turned on her side, putting herself into a more comfortable position to read her book.

She didn't know how long it'd been since Tenten left, but she was three quarters of the way through her book when she slammed the door open again. Sakura didn't flinch at the loud intrusion and didn't even move. She didn't want to. She liked her book and she was far too comfortable to sit up.

"Wow, I would have thought you would have gone out for certain," Tenten said while she went digging in her closet for something. Sakura only shrugged. "You know there are a whole bunch of parties around right now, what with the year starting. Why don't you go out and get a little drunk?" the older girl was trying to be friendly, Sakura knew, but she didn't feel like it.

"I don't like a lot of people," Sakura said quietly. "Anyways, I'm only eighteen."

"Doesn't matter on campus. The guys at the parties aren't going to card you or anything," Tenten shrugged, tossing on some new clothes. She pulled her combat boots back on and went for the door. "Whatever, dude, I'm not going to force you out if you don't want to go." She left after she said her piece. Sakura only shrugged and went back to her book.

 _Hey, party tonight at the quad near Bridge building. You in?_ Naruto, arguably her only friend, had texted her. Sakura rolled her eyes at her phone.

 _Not in the mood._

He didn't text her back. She was glad for it. He had always tried to get her to go out. He tried to get her to be more social and do things far outside her comfort zone. Once in a while, he managed it, but she usually shot him down. He didn't usually have any hard feelings about it, honestly, but every so often he'd pout at her and whine that she should go out with him.

Sakura sighed and pulled out some granola bars from under her bed. She ate them while staring at the ceiling. College was a new start. Nobody, save for Naruto, knew about her past and she could pretend it hadn't happened here. She still had an issue meeting new people and all, but there wouldn't be whispers and quick glances her way anymore. She hoped it would stay that way, at least for a little while. Finishing her last granola bar, she stuffed the wrappers back into the box and turned to face the wall, closing her eyes. Her first class was at nine in the morning tomorrow. She didn't want to miss it.

* * *

"I'm Professor Kakashi and this semester I'll be teaching you," he took a moment to look down at his book, "Advanced English language." He sounded confused, like he had never heard of it before. "Uh. Why don't you take out your books?" Sakura heard a scoff from beside her and she looked out of the corner of her eyes at the black haired boy next to her. He was leaning back into his seat, giving the teacher an unimpressed stare.

Sakura ignored him and pulled out her textbook. It was more than slightly beat up and was probably missing a page or two, but she didn't spare a glance at the boy next to her, even when he tossed a new edition of the book on the table, giving her a stare. He thought he was better than her and was trying to show it. She didn't care. She watched the teacher. He didn't seem like he even had a lesson plan. Was he just winging it?" she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Open to page," he flipped through the book and settled on a page at random, "One hundred and eight." The students opened their books. "We will be discussing the structure of Shakespearian plays," he was reading from the book. He seemed like a particularly shit teacher and many of the students were watching him, obviously thinking him dumb.

Sakura didn't think much of him, either, but didn't want to assume anything. She was right not to assume. As the professor got into the lesson, he was more focused and obviously knew what he was talking about. Many of the students, as she observed, quickly became lost as he talked. He didn't ask any questions and she vaguely wondered why. Perhaps he liked to hear himself talk? She followed along in her book, though Shakespeare was relatively boring. She thought it quite overused and overrated, but she would never voice her opinions out loud.

"So what'd you think of that?" the black haired boy asked when the class was let out. Sakura was surprised he even talked to her. He was obviously rich and knew she wasn't. He wanted to rub it in her face earlier, so why all nice now? She didn't look at him for a long moment while she was stowing her book back in her bag.

"He knows what he's talking about," she finally said after realizing the boy wasn't going away without hearing her voice. "Maybe he doesn't know how to structure lessons or something, but he gets his point across." The professor had assigned them an essay about picking apart Hamlet, but he didn't seem to care much about it. Sakura got the feeling the man didn't care about much. The boy made a grunt.

Sakura pulled her bag on her shoulder and went for the door. When she emerged into the hallway, she was surprised the boy was following her.

"Did you need something else?" her voice wasn't the nicest, she knew, but she didn't understand why he was walking beside her. He shrugged.

"Aren't you Naruto's friend?" he asked blatantly. She faltered in her step and nearly tripped. He watched her, an amused glint in his eye, as she pulled herself back up gracefully and continued on. She didn't answer for another moment after her awkwardness subsided.

"How do you know Naruto?" she finally asked. She hadn't really thought of Naruto having other friends. Yes, she knew he did, but they didn't seem real until this moment. Naruto had never pushed her into hanging out with his friends and when they went out it was just the two of them. He had a heart of gold and would never put her into situations she felt uncomfortable. She definitely felt uncomfortable now.

"I've known him for years," the boy shrugged. "He kind of shoved himself on me when he first moved. He made me be his friend," there was a shred of annoyance in the boy's voice, but Sakura suspected he didn't really mind all that much. "I've known he's had a friend with pink hair for years, but I never met her. I thought that friend would be you. Not many people have pink hair."

"Well, you've found the one person on earth that both knows Naruto and has natural pink hair, congratulations," she was sassing him. He stared at her with a look of surprise in his eyes. "What, do you think I should feel gratuitous to you that you're talking to me? You're obviously high above my social status," she shot at him, stopping outside her classroom door. Who did he think he was, anyways? She was a stranger. He didn't know if she wanted to talk to him or not and she definitely didn't want to.

"I only talked to you because you're Naruto's friend," the boy shot back at her. "There's no reason for such hostility." He was angered by her words. So what, he was well off? He didn't talk to her because he pitied her. He had heard stories from Naruto through the years and was naturally very curious. He just wanted to see what Naruto thought was so great about her.

"I'm Naruto's friend so you have to be my friend, too?" she asked heatedly, sharp green eyes watching him. He sighed and rolled his eyes to the ceiling.

"Look. Naruto's the type of guy that thinks anyone that's your friend is his friend. He thinks I should do it that way too." His voice was hard, toneless. Naruto had obviously wrangled him into this; she could hear it in his voice. It was the voice she used when Naruto managed to wrangle her into something too. "Here." He shoved a piece of paper at her shoulder while he left. "In case you want to stop being an asshole," he said as he walked away. She looked down. A phone number was scrawled underneath a name. Sasuke. She gave him an appraising glance as he walked away and then ducked into her classroom.

"I swear, why don't you ever eat?" Tenten was standing over her, watching her type the essay for her English class. Sakura just shrugged.

"I don't eat at the same time you do. My classes are at nine in the morning. Yours are at noon," she was dodging the question. She didn't want Tenten to think she could be her friend now, too. It was just the first day into the semester and she wasn't trying to make friends, these people were just everywhere.

"Why do you have to be up so early?" the girl asked, groaning and flopping down on her bed. "You're in college; you should be out late partying it up!" Sakura didn't know why Tenten wanted to stay in this tiny room and criticize her on her life choices. Shouldn't she be with that boy? Kevin, Sakura thought his name was. He had shown up at some point looking for her.

"I'm not the partying type," she said tonelessly, deleting a few words she didn't need in her writing. Kakashi had wanted two thousand words and she had gone well over the limit. She was now deleting some of it that was impertinent. "You should go out partying, if that's what you want." What, did the girl think she was her charity case? She rolled her eyes at her screen.

"You could meet someone for once. Have you met anyone here?" Tenten demanded. She just was not giving up. Sakura shrugged.

"There was a black haired boy in my English class that wouldn't leave me alone," she held up the piece of paper with his number on it. "Does that qualify as 'meeting someone?'" She didn't look at the other girl's face.

"Yes, that would qualify. So, are you going to text him? Go out on a date with him?" Why was she so interested? Sakura narrowed her eyes. She just wanted to be left alone, for fuck's sake. The only reason she hadn't flipped out on Tenten yet was because she had to share a room with her. She didn't want the drama that would ensue if she made her angry.

"Wasn't planning on it. He's not bad looking if you want a go at him," Sakura shrugged. There was a banging on the door. "Naruto, you don't have to break my door down to talk to me," she raised her voice. Tenten looked to the door, dumbfounded as the blond walked in looking rather sheepish.

"Sorry, Sak, you know I can't help it," he flopped on her bed. "Oh, hey, roommate, what's your name?" he smiled easily. "I'm Naruto, this one's best friend," he stuck his thumb out at Sakura. Sakura rolled her eyes again and saved her essay. She'd have to print it in the morning before class. She got to writing another essay for a history class she was taking.

"Tenten. So, can you tell me why she doesn't do normal college person things?" she asked. Naruto shrugged.

"Sakura's never done 'normal person things,' I guess," he laughed loudly. "I've known her for fourtteen years and she still confuses me!"

"Why are you here, Naruto?" there was barely veiled annoyance in her words.

"Get your coat." There was a quiet command in his words and she sighed. She saved her progress on her essay and stood, rifling through her closet for a jacket. Naruto grinned at her and she grimaced back. What did he have planned?

"Oh? Where are you two off to?" Tenten asked, eyeing them. Sakura glared and she looked away. She didn't like when others butt in on her personal business.

"I'm just getting Sakura some fresh air," Naruto remedied the situation and ushered her out the door. She went easily enough. "Your roommates really interested in everything about you, huh?" he laughed as they walked towards the elevator. Sakura shrugged.

"So where are you dragging me off to?"

Naruto gave her a skeptical look. "I know you haven't eaten anything really since you got here." Sakura bristled, but he seemed to be expecting it because he grinned. "I know you, Sak, you wouldn't ask for food when I brought you over to my house all those times. I wonder what you'd do if you didn't have me around," he grinned at her and she only grimaced.

"You still haven't answered my question," she said flatly, giving him a pointed look.

"Geez, Sakura, you don't beat around the bush, huh?" Naruto laughed. "There's a good restaurant a few minutes away from campus. We're meeting some people down there." Sakura glared at him. He grinned sheepishly. "It isn't anyone scary, Sak. You met Sasuke earlier and his brother and his cousin are coming. Then there's Hinata and her cousin and her friend, Ino. You've met Hinata."

"Just because she's your girlfriend doesn't mean I have to talk to her," she grumbled, climbing into the passenger seat of his car. Naruto only laughed and turned on the car, throwing it into gear. He sped out of the parking lot.

"Well, don't talk then. I'll pay for you just so you can't complain," he laughed and she rolled her eyes. Oh well, she had known she'd have to deal with a situation like this eventually anyways.

"Do they know how we met?"She hadn't been around his friends much, but didn't care. She didn't want him to tell them anything about her past or how they knew each other. That was very important to her.

"They don't know who you are or that you're even coming," Naruto shrugged. "Why? You don't want to tell them we met in foster care?" Sakura glared at the windshield, at her own reflection. She shook her head. "I'll keep my mouth shut, Sak, no problem. Nothing about foster care, promise."

"Nothing about how I ended up there, either," she said sharply, eyes narrowed.

"Alright, alright," Naruto sighed. "Why all the secrecy?" he had never understood why she didn't tell people about herself. She kept it at a need to know basis and probably wasn't even happy _he_ knew. She couldn't do anything about that, though. He'd known her for so long and was in the same foster care family for a few years before he was adopted. There wasn't any secret of hers he didn't know.

"What if I don't want them to look at me with pity in their eyes, like everyone else in my life always has?" she asked softly, staring out the window. Naruto parked. He didn't get out yet and Sakura didn't, either.

"I'll listen to ya, Sak, but you have to learn to trust someone every now and then," Naruto gave her a smile and she shrugged.

"I don't need to trust anyone. I just need myself," she sounded like she was pouting and he wanted to laugh, but knew he really shouldn't. Sakura would just hit him upside the head.

"Well, you have me, too," he grinned again. "Come on, they're probably waiting for us," he gave her a little shove and she rolled her eyes, shoving open the door. He pulled himself out of the car as well and walked with her to the restaurant, watching her to make sure she didn't try to run. She gave him a look that said she wasn't even thinking about it and he just laughed nervously.

Sakura wasn't happy to see the large table of six people already there. They seemed happy to see Naruto, but didn't really know how to react to the pink haired girl with him. Sasuke gave her a glance and raised two fingers in acknowledgement. She nodded her head imperceptibly at him.

Naruto sat next to Hinata and Sakura pulled up a chair, but didn't quite know where to sit. There wasn't room next to Naruto and that was the only person she was comfortable being next to. She stood in indecision for a few moments until someone noticed her standing there.

"Here," the man had black hair and eye, smiling openly at her. He must be one of Sasuke's kin. He shoved himself over and patted the place. She shoved her chair into the space and sat, feeling completely uncomfortable. She was between the black haired man and a boy with long brown hair and pail eyes, which she figured must be Hinata's cousin. "So what's your name?" he was talking to her now and she didn't want to.

"Sakura," she finally said after a few long moments.

"Shisui," he stuck out his hand, smiling again. She looked at his hand as though it repulsed her and he slowly lowered it. She was certainly a prickly one, huh? She darted her eyes around and fidgeted quite a lot. She was obviously very nervous. "So how do you know Naruto?"

"We were childhood friends," Naruto yelled down the table, grinning. "We met way back in preschool, but she moved pretty soon after." She sighed in relief. He'd probably thought that answer through pretty well. She was glad he interrupted Shisui's attempt at being friendly, too.

"Hm. We've never heard of you," Shisui looked at her closely, "and Sasuke's been Naruto's friend for a long time too." Sakura wanted to smack him. She glared at the table and clenched her hands tightly together in her lap. She was tense and didn't want to deal with this.

"Shisui," another black haired man spoke up, "Stop." Shisui sighed.

"Fine, fine, cousin, but you know it's weird."

"She probably didn't want to meet you. She already has to deal with Naruto, why would she want to deal with you?" the man glanced at Sakura and she realized there was amusement in his eyes. He was definitely teasing Shisui, but also trying to keep his attention off her. She gave him a grateful glance.

"I take that as offensive, Itachi!" Shisui stood and shoved his finger in his face. "I'm nowhere near as annoying as Naruto!"

"I am sitting right here, asshole!" Naruto was on his feet now too, shoving his finger in Shisui's face. "I don't think I'm nearly as annoying as you are!"

"Will you sit down, Naruto?!" Sakura glared at him. Naruto, looking sheepish, slowly lowered himself back down into his seat.

"Sorry Sak," he looked perfectly contrite. Everyone was slightly surprised she could shut Naruto up so easily. Their silence was complete and slightly awkward until the waiter showed up to take their order. Sakura was still fuming and hadn't even looked at the menu.

"What are you getting, miss?" the waiter was staring at her, slightly annoyed and waiting. Sakura had checked out and was staring at the table. She looked up at him, but still didn't know what to say.

"She'll get the baked ziti," Naruto said suddenly. The waiter nodded, writing it down and Sakura nodded once in Naruto's direction to show her thanks. He wasn't really worried too much about her, but she definitely was shutting down. She'd stay, at least, even if she wasn't enjoying herself. Hinata patted his hand and he leaned his ear close to her mouth so he could hear her.

"Is she alright?" Hinata had only met Sakura once or twice, but she knew a lot about her from Naruto. She didn't like large groups of people and didn't like it when strangers tried to talk to her. She'd been watching the pink haired girl the entire time and could see she was rather agitated.

"She'll be fine, Hinata. She's just a little grumpy. She's always grumpy," Naruto laughed. Sakura was now picking at her food, not really eating much.

"Come on, Sakura, it smells good," Shisui was saying, staring down at her with a smile on his face. Hinata's cousin had yet to speak and she was glad for that. Shisui was the only one being annoying as all goddamn hell. At his words, though, she lost it. She couldn't do this.

"I need to go," she stood and dropped her fork on the table. Naruto watched her go, concern in his eyes, but Shisui stood.

"Don't worry, I'll walk her home, Naruto," he smiled easily. "It's probably my fault she left," he grabbed his jacket and trotted after her. Naruto was only slightly happy he didn't have to run after her. He knew he should, but he really didn't want to leave Hinata. It'd been a few days since he'd seen her. Whatever Sakura threw at him, he knew Shisui could deal with it.

"Hey, wait up!" Sakura heard the words, but didn't turn around. She kept her eyes on the ground and continued walking quickly. She didn't want to deal with him. She didn't want to deal with anyone. She wanted to be left alone to do her history essay. That's all she wanted to do. "Jesus, you walk quickly."

"Leave me alone." She wasn't going to try and be nice to him. Not at all. She hugged herself tighter. It had been getting colder at night with summer over and she hadn't thought to bring a jacket. She hadn't thought she'd be walking home. She felt something fall on her shoulders. A jacket, probably Shisui's. She shrugged it off. "I'm fine."

"Oh, hush, just let me be a gentleman," he put it back on her shoulders. She gritted her teeth and dealt with it. "Where's your dorm?" he was walking easily, completely laid back. He seemed like a cheery laid back person, easy to get along with, but she didn't want to get along with him.

"On the campus, where else would it be?" she asked flatly. She kept her eyes trained on the ground. She didn't want to look at him. She didn't really feel like it. She quickened her pace, wanting to get this walk over with.

"Jesus, will you slow down? What's your problem with me anyways?" he had tried to not take her actions offensively, but it was getting harder and harder. She certainly wasn't giving him anything. He was used to being able to use his charm to get through to anyone, but she seemed rather immune to charm.

"I don't have a problem with you, not really," she said, voice hard. "I have a problem with people in general. I just want to be left alone." He was surprised by her words and stopped momentarily, but he came back to his senses. He caught up with her easily enough.

"Well I like you, so you're stuck with me!" he announced. She faltered in her quick pace and looked up at him, eyes narrowed.

"No. Leave me alone." Shisui just shook his head.

"Nope! You're Naruto's friend and now you're mine. You're stuck with me, you asshole," he grinned at her.

"Ah, yes, the best idea when making a new friend is to call them an asshole," she rolled her eyes and continued on her way. He couldn't help the laugh that was ripped from him and he caught up with her.

"Well, you are an asshole, you know."

"I just want to be left alone." She'd always been alone. Why couldn't she just be left alone? They finally got back to campus and she turned in the direction of her dorm. To her dismay, Shisui followed her. He was seriously glued to her side.

"It's not good to be alone all the time, you know," he said easily. "You need to have some company sometimes."

"I have a roommate and she's company enough," Sakura said flatly. Shisui laughed. She obviously didn't like her roommate very much, but then she didn't seem to like many people very much.

"Ah, well, you're stuck with me, yet again. I know where you live now," they'd gotten to her building. "Give me your phone." She narrowed her eyes at him, hand on the doorknob, and she shook her head once. "Then I'll follow you to your room and I won't leave until you give me your phone." He grinned at her, challenging her, and she sighed.

"Fine." She handed him her phone. He punched in his number and saved it.

"You better text me after this you know. If I don't get a text within the next day and a half, I'll ask Naruto what room is yours and I'll annoy the hell out of you," he promised, winking. She huffed and turned around. He almost spoke again, wanting to let her know she still had his jacket, but he let her go. Let her keep it. It would give him a reason to annoy her. He turned around and walked away.

"Who was that?" Tenten had seen her walking up to the building. It wasn't hard to miss her with the shock of pink hair. She had seen her with some tall guy, but couldn't see him well enough to see whether he was handsome or not.

"Shisui. Naruto's friend. He decided he needed to be my friend," Sakura spat, throwing her phone on the bed. She didn't like being someone's charity case. She pulled off her jacket and stopped. This wasn't her jacket. Fuck. She threw it on her chair. She wasn't going to say anything to Shisui about it.

"Is he cute?" Tenten was sitting on her bed, her eyes bright.

"I don't know. Maybe?" Sakura shrugged. "I don't really think anyone's 'cute,' honestly." She had never had a boyfriend and honestly wasn't really looking for one, especially not someone like Shisui. Tenten looked a little let down, but Sakura didn't really care. She got out her computer to finish writing her essay.

"Say, when are those essays due anyways?"

"A week from today," Sakura said blankly. "I don't like waiting on them." She'd never really been one to procrastinate anything except for social gatherings. Tenten sighed.

"You're a much better student than I am." Sakura looked at the clock. She had to get to bed soon if she wanted to be awake for her classes tomorrow. She only had an applied mathematics class and a graphic arts class in the morning, but she had to go to work afterwards. She needed her sleep. She shook her head and went back to her essay. She was almost done. This one was shorter than the English one had to be. Tenten sighed again. "Well, since you're busy studying, I'll be off." She got up and began changing her clothes.

"Bye," Sakura said tonelessly. After Tenten left, the only sound in the room was her rhythmic typing. She finished her essay rather quickly and shut her laptop. She plugged in her phone and saw that she had a text message from Naruto.

 _Hey. You okay?_

 _Fine. Sorry I left earlier._

 _It's k. I'll see ya tomorrow._

 _k. night._

Sakura threw her phone on the desk after she set her alarm and fell into bed. She was so tired. Screw today. Screw Naruto. Screw Shisui. Screw everything at this point. Sighing, she stretched and settled beneath the covers to sleep.

* * *

"How'd you get into a junior level class?" It was right before her graphics arts class and someone was already annoying her. She looked up to see the one person she wasn't too keen on seeing. Shisui stood next to her and he was already pulling out the chair to sit down. She couldn't say anything as he settled in next to her. "Are you going to answer?"

"Perhaps I took a college level art course last year so I could be allowed to take it," she said flatly, not looking at him. He sighed. When was she going to stop being an asshole?

"You're a good artist then, huh?" he smiled. "Say, you haven't texted me yet. You only have a day left, you know." She scoffed.

"Threatening me to text you?" she narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm pretty sure I should call the police for harassment." Shisui laughed. He couldn't help it. The level of her sass was off the charts and pretty much everything she said was hilarious.

"Now, now, I think that's going a little too far," he laughed. She looked away from him and was so glad when the professor finally walked in. She didn't have to answer him and he didn't try to say anything else.

He did have something to say, however, when the class was over. "So, you want to grab lunch with me?" he asked, an easy smile on his face. Sakura shook her head while she gathered up all her belongings.

"I have to get to work," she said. She already had her uniform in her bag and it was a fifteen minute walk to the small coffee shop she worked at. Shisui nodded and began following her as she walked out the door. "Go away."

"Nah. It's not safe for a girl such as you to walk alone on campus, even during the day," he smiled at her. Sakura brushed him off and quickened her step. If she had to deal with him, she wasn't going to make it easy on him.

"I might take that as an insult," she said flatly.

"Why? You should be happy you have your own personal guardian," he laughed. "I wouldn't feel right letting you walk God knows where without someone. You're so tiny. There are a lot of people that will take advantage of how tiny you are." Sakura shook her head.

"This is literally a college town. I doubt there are many people out there that want to rape me."

"That doubt is going to get you into a sticky situation, you know." Even if she didn't worry about her wellbeing, he could. She didn't say anything else as they walked and he figured he wouldn't either. He didn't want to add fuel to the fire. "Do you have a jacket?" he asked suddenly. September was certainly cool during the evening, especially this year.

"Don't worry, dickbag, I've brought a jacket," she said flatly. He laughed. And continued laughing. He had to stop her for a moment so he could get the laugh out of his system. "What?" she asked, exasperated. He didn't answer until his laughter subsided and they were on their way again.

"Dickbag, that's a good one," he couldn't help but laugh shortly again. "Remind me to call you if I have to insult someone."

"Noted," she said evenly. She saw the coffee shop come into view and was almost jogging at this point in an effort to get away from him. He kept the pace easily. He had nice long legs for it, at least. She stopped right outside the door. "See you," she said as a goodbye.

"Wait, I'll come walk you home," he said, reaching out for her shoulder before she could slip away. She gave him a harsh glare and he almost took a step back, but he stood his ground. "Or I'll pick you up. I have a car, you know. I don't walk everywhere," he grinned nervously. He sounded desperate. He knew he sounded desperate, but he didn't care.

"You don't have to." She turned into the door. He watched her go and looked at the door for a long moment. They closed at eight. It was ten minutes before one. He figured she was closing if she went in at this time. He shoved his hands in his pockets and turned around, walking away. He'd be back. He didn't want her to walk home in the dark, much less alone.

Sakura was glad to be away from him, even if she now had to deal with the customers. Happily, they were mostly tired college kids that just wanted their coffee so they could continue their half asleep existence. They didn't notice she had a stony face while serving them and didn't say much more than she absolutely had to.

"Sakura, are you almost done?" It was after closing time and she was just tying up the last garbage to take to the dumpster.

"Yeah," she called. The manager was in the office, counting money. She stopped in the office door on her way to the back door with the garbage. "This is the last garbage I've got to take out."

"Alright, clock out and take it with you on your way out."

"Kay, see you on Friday," Sakura went to clock out and collected the garbage, shoving her way out of the door. The door barely worked and she had to literally body check it to get it open. Sighing, she went to the dumpster and threw the bag in. She straightened her bag and began walking through the parking lot.

"Hey." She stopped and turned. Shisui was leaning against a black car she'd thought belonged to her manager. She glared at him.

"Haven't you gotten the idea, yet?" she said sharply. "I don't want you around."

"Too bad. Come on, in the car," he noticed she was wearing his jacket. He wanted to smile, but didn't want to let her know he noticed. He grabbed her bag and pulled it from her amid her various protests, tossing it in the back seat of his car. She wouldn't stop glaring at him and wouldn't move her feet. He rolled his eyes and grinned at her, placing his hand between her shoulders and pushing her towards the car. It wasn't easy to move her, but he managed it. He opened the car door and waited. It took a few minutes, but she finally sat in the seat.

"Are you hungry?" he asked as he turned the car on. She shook her head. She was so livid she didn't have words to say. "Well, I'm hungry," he pushed the car into dear and turned onto the street. There weren't really any fast food places around, but there was a Mcdonald's, so he set his direction that way. He cast a glance at Sakura, who was staring out the window with a grimace on her face.

He ordered in the drive thru and got her a burger and fries, though he didn't tell her. He just handed it to her after it was handed to him. He half thought she was just going to throw it out the window, but to his surprise, she didn't. She began eating the fries.

"So you're not hungry?" he teased her. He didn't know anything about her eating habits, but he remembered the night before when she just pushed her food around her plate. He was glad she was eating what he gave her, at least. Perhaps she was more comfortable around him, he didn't know. He parked in a space close to the dorms and pulled out his own food.

"Thanks," she said throwing her wrappers back into the paper bag. She made no move to get out of the car. She knew he would want to walk her to her door and thought it better to simply wait until he was done. She didn't have to wait long. He was throwing his wrappers in the bag a few minutes later.

He walked her to the door as she thought he was going to. "Glad you ate," he said, smiling. She only nodded, not looking at him. He opened the door for her and she ducked inside without so much as a goodnight. Perhaps she was starting to like him. He smiled at that thought and walked away.

* * *

"So is Shisui your brother or your cousin?" Sakura asked when she sat down next to Sasuke the next morning in their English Language class. He had looked slightly surprised when she sat down, not quite understanding why she would do it of her own volition, but got over it pretty quickly.

"Why do you want to know?" he asked evenly. He set his black eyes on her; they usually intimidated most people, but she didn't see very fazed.

"Well, he's been following me around for the past two days trying to be my friend," she grumbled, almost slamming her book on the table. "It's getting annoying." Sasuke raised his brow. It sounded like his cousin was taking a shining to the little spitfire.

"Ah. He's my cousin. He tends to be…assertive," Sasuke shrugged. "If he wants to be your friend, you're stuck with him. Sorry."

"Sounds like Naruto," she muttered darkly. She didn't need another Naruto, not really. Sasuke actually cracked a smile at her words and shrugged.

"He is quite like Naruto. He can be less obnoxious if you just give up and let him be your friend. He is aggressive when he finds someone he likes." Sakura rolled her eyes. "You still have yet to talk to me outside a classroom, you know," he said flatly. Their teacher was late. Sasuke half wondered when he would show up.

"I don't make it a habit to meet new people," she said sourly. "Naruto dragged me out that night."

"I don't like people either," Sasuke said. His voice sounded quite grumpy and he pulled the first smile he'd ever seen from Sakura. "I only talked to you because of Naruto," he admitted. "He thinks you need more people to talk to."

"I don't even talk to him that often," she said, leaning back in her chair.

"Me neither, so text me once in a while so he'll get off my back," Sasuke said flatly. Sakura smiled again and nodded. She could do that at least.

"Sorry, no calls. I'm not much of a talker."

"Me neither," he sounded relieved that she would never call him. "I don't like people, I'm just less of an asshole about it." Sakura couldn't help but laugh. She decided she liked Sasuke. He was better than Shisui by any means.

"So how do I get Shisui off my back?" she asked, sighing. She leaned her chin in her palm, elbow on the desk. "He doesn't seem to know how to take no as an answer."

"Being an asshole doesn't get him off your back," Sasuke shrugged. "Trust me, I've tries. Multiple times. Have you texted him yet?"

"No. I don't want him to think I like him." Initiating contact with the man seemed like a huge no-no. He'd take it as a good sign and would start annoying her more. She at least had the upper hand when he couldn't contact her.

"He'll leave you alone for a while if he thinks you've accepted him," Sasuke said, eyes trained to the front. "He carries most of the conversation, like Naruto. Has he shown up outside your door yet?" When Shisui wanted someone's attention, he would sit outside their door, either it be a bedroom or a house, and would wait until that person came by.

"No, thank god. I might punch him in the neck if he did. I keep insulting him and he thinks it's the best shit ever. I called him a dickbag and he laughed." She certainly sounded grumpy and irritated. Sasuke wanted to laugh, but didn't. With how much Shisui was distracted by her, he hadn't been bothering anyone else really. It was a nice reprieve.

"Take my advice and reciprocate or he'll never leave you alone," Sasuke said, shrugging. "He doesn't understand insults. He gets along with everyone." Jesus, that man really was a second Naruto. Sakura groaned and held her head in her hands.

"Your brother was right. I never wanted to deal with _another_ Naruto!" she whined. "It's bad enough that I've had to deal with _him_ for so long!"

"How long have you known Naruto?" Sasuke asked, raising a brow. She seemed to know him pretty well to draw the similarities between the two.

"What, like fourteen years now?" she sighed. "We met when we were four." Sasuke looked at her in surprise. She certainly should have come up at some point in conversation. Naruto couldn't keep his mouth shut half the time. He wondered how Naruto could have possibly never talked about her before. It was certainly surprising. "He says I'm his best friend, but I don't know why. I really don't like hanging around him and I'm not very talkative," she sighed.

"Well, if he says you are, you are." Sasuke knew Naruto well enough to understand that. The teacher finally, finally walked in. He turned his skeptical eye to the front and Sakura followed suit. They were quite happy to. Sakura had certainly used all her social motivation for the day.

Shisui was waiting for her after her last class. She glared at him. He grinned and fell in step beside her. "Hungry?" She shook her head. "Too bad," he grabbed her hand and began pulling her through the hallway and out the door.

"What the hell?! What are you doing, dickbag?" she decided his name was henceforth dickbag, and there was nothing anyone could say that would change her mind. He only grinned.

"We're going to get food, buttmunch." She couldn't pull her hand from his; he was holding it way too tightly. She dug her heels into the ground and sat. Yes, she was resorting to toddler based tactics to make him let her go.

"I'm not going with you, ass," she spat at him. "Leave me alone. I just want to go up to my room and do my homework." There was another English essay and she hadn't even gotten to her math homework yet. The math was due the next day and she didn't have time to go trailing after Shisui for half the day and the entire night.

Shisui grinned at her and scooped her up easily in his arms. If she was going to resort to childishness, he could too. "Then we'll get food and we can go back to your room."

"Why won't you leave me alone?" she whined, hitting his chest. She wanted him to let her down, but he wasn't budging. "I keep telling you and telling you that I want to be left alone, but you won't! Why not!" this was certainly a scene and people were certainly staring, but neither Shisui nor Sakura seemed to notice.

"I like you," he said pleasantly. "And anyways, I think part of you likes it," he grinned down at her. She glared back. He only shrugged and managed to open the car door one handed. He placed her gently into the seat and closed the door. He slid into the car and turned it on; heading to a restaurant he knew had takeout and pretty quick service a few streets down from the campus.

When they got there, Sakura wouldn't say a word. She was tense in her seat when he left her to go order and wait. He tapped his keys against his leg, impatiently waiting for what he'd ordered. He was sure if he waited too long Sakura would run away from him again. He couldn't help the sigh of relief when he saw she was still in the car. "Here," he tossed the bag into her lap.

Sakura didn't say anything while he drove back to the dorms. He didn't take her silence as anything bad. If she wasn't talking, she wasn't insulting him. The insults really had begun to weigh him down even though he acted as though it didn't. He parked and looked over at her. She still hadn't moved a centimeter since he'd gotten back in the car. He sighed and pulled himself out of the car, her doing the same.

She didn't spare a glance at him as she led him up to her room and prayed Tenten wasn't around to see him. She knew the questions would never end if she did. Thankfully, she was nowhere to be seen and she shut the door behind her.

"Don't you have to keep it open?" Shisui asked, giving her a curious stare.

"It's a Co-ed dorm, there's no rules like that around here," she shrugged. "Anyways, like I'd let you do anything, dickbag," she threw her jacket and her bag on her bed. "You can sit there," she took her desk chair. Pulling out her laptop, she was surprised when she felt the warmth of a takeout container on her lap. She looked up to see Shisui just as he was pulling away.

"I got it so you could eat, remember?" he smiled at her. Sakura just looked away. She started her English essay, knowing it would be the fastest one to get out of the way. She didn't need to think about English, really, it just kind of came out of her. They were silent to her rhythmic typing and she had nearly finished when Shisui spoke.

"Think you could play some music? I'm getting kind of bored over here," he said, smiling. He had a book open, reading. She blinked and opened her music folder. She didn't care if he didn't like classical music, that's all he was getting. "Mozart, right? This one is…" he listened for another moment, "Piano Concerto in C major?" She blinked.

"How'd you know?"

"I studied music a lot throughout the years," he smiled. He went back to his book and Sakura gave him a long look before turning back to finish her essay. She looked it over and thought it good enough to turn it in and saved it. She went to her math homework next and quickly became frustrated. She wasn't too good at math and this was the easiest course this college offered. The music wasn't helping her focus, either, and she bit her lip. She slammed her hand on the table in her frustration and held her head in her hands.

"Jesus, what's wrong?" Shisui was snapped out of his book.

"Nothing," her voice was strained. She didn't understand this problem. There were five more after this and she was already frustrated with the four before it. She slammed her hand on the desk again.

"Sakura," she stopped when he used her name. He didn't do it often. He stole Tenten's chair and pulled it up beside her. "What's up? Frustrated?" He looked over her shoulder at the worksheet. This was easy. Perhaps she wasn't good with math? There were a lot of eraser marks underneath the fifth problem. He looked at it and immediately understood it. "Want help?"

"No," she muttered, her hand clenched on her pencil. He chuckled.

"Oh, hush," he laughed, "Come here," he brought his chair closer and pressed a hand to the back of her chair and leaned over the desk. He talked her through it, explaining it to her thoroughly. He talked her through the rest of them and she threw her pencil away from her when she was finished. He pulled the takeout container from her lap and put it in front of her. "Eat."

"Thanks," she muttered. She meant for both the food and the help.

"Math doesn't make much sense to you, does it?" he asked leaning on the desk now, watching her eat. She shook her head, staring intently at her food. She was overly aware that he was close to her, so close, and she couldn't get it out of her head. She narrowed her eyes at her food. She wasn't starting to like him. She wasn't starting to accept him hanging around her all the time. She wasn't.

"I can help, if you want. This is super easy to me." He didn't think she would make it easy for him and she was right when she shook her head.

"It's fine. Thanks for tonight, but I don't need it." She didn't like accepting help, she really didn't. Shisui laughed.

"Sorry, you don't have a choice, silly," Shisui smiled at her. Suddenly, she was pressed against his side and his arms were around her. Her eyes widened. A hug? Why would he hug her? Thankfully, he released her quite quickly and she simply went back to eating. Shisui smiled at the back of her head. He stood up, stretched, and went back to her bed. He needed to finish this book.

Sakura finished her meal and looked over at him. He was intently reading the book again and was about three quarters of the way through it. She sighed, throwing her container in the trash, and grabbed a book of her own from the top shelf in the closet. She sat next to him on the bed and began reading herself. Shisui looked over at her and couldn't contain the smile on his face. Was she finally accepting him?


	2. Chapter 2

**There be shameless smut about, so hide yo virgin eyes. Actually, I don't really care.  
**

 **I wrote this right after the first chapter.**

 **I really like the word dickbag, no lie.**

* * *

 _Hey. Dinner tomorrow?_

 _Sure. Five?_

 _k._

Sakura put down her phone. She had finally given into Shisui and had texted him. It had taken him three weeks of prodding and basically stalking her, but his tenacity finally paid off. Sasuke had been right; it was a lot easier to deal with him now.

"Hey, want to hit up a party?" Tenten was back and was already changing into a more party-centric outfit. Sakura shook her head. "Come on, I know your friend Naruto will be there." Sakura hadn't seen him in about a week when he followed her to the mall so she could get a haircut and a new pair of shoes.

"Fine, fine," she got up. Naruto would probably text her about showing up eventually anyways. "Just don't expect me to drink."

"Are you going in that?" Tenten laughed at her. She wore her usual jeans and sweatshirt. She shrugged.

"Problem?"

"I'm giving you something to wear. Seriously, you can't go in jeans and a sweatshirt!" Tenten began throwing clothes all over the place. "I'm thinking something along the lines of punk or something. You don't seem the type to wear frilly dresses." Though Sakura really wasn't, she couldn't help the grimace. She liked her jeans and sweatshirts. "Here, put it on." Tenten tossed her some clothes.

"Fine, fine. At this point I'm just going to take a shower," she grabbed her shower bag and headed for the door. She never took long in the shower, Tenten knew that, so she didn't really mind waiting.

Five minutes later, Sakura was standing in front of one of the many mirrors in the bathroom. She didn't like wearing this. She had a short black skirt and a tight fitting band t-shirt on. She hated it. She would surely freeze in it, anyways. Fall had come in full force by this point and the nights were colder than before. Sighing, she picked up her stuff and went back to her room.

"You need something else," Tenten said when she walked in.

"You don't think I'll be cold in this?" Sakura asked, annoyed. Her legs felt naked and she couldn't help but feel slightly vulnerable.

"Here, leggings." Tenten tossed her some elastic material. Sakura just put it on. They stopped just short of her ankle. Tenten whirled around the room and fastened a chain belt around her waist, just above the skirt, and fixed a studded choker around her neck. Now Sakura was feeling way out of her comfort zone. She didn't dress up much like this. She didn't want to. "Sit."

"Why?"

"You need makeup." Tenten pulled out her makeup bag. Sakura had seen it so many times.

"I don't need makeup," Sakura said flatly.

"Shut up, you do. Stay." Tenten was already putting something on her face and Sakura didn't like the feeling of it, but she let her do it. Before long, Sakura had gunk all over her face and wasn't too happy about it. Tenten moved behind her and began putting up her hair in some kind of interesting do. Sakura didn't like being transformed like this, but she let it happen. "Now you're ready," Tenten said, hopping off the bed.

"Did you really have to do all that?" Sakura asked, staring down at herself. She didn't feel like her. She felt like some stranger parading around in her body.

"Yep! Grab your jacket and let's go," Tenten was already grabbing hers. Sakura reached for the one she'd stolen from Shisui and shrugged it on. It was leather. It would go with the monstrosity Tenten shoved her into. "By the way, where did you get that?"

"Jacked it from Shisui," Sakura shrugged. Tenten almost laughed at the nonchalant way she just shrugged off her theft. She followed the pink haired wonder out the door and led her to her car. Sakura slid into the passenger side and Tenten shoved her car into gear, peeling out of the parking lot. "Jesus Christ, is this how you always drive?" Sakura asked, holding onto the hand strap above her door.

"I'm a reckless piece of shit. You'll get used to it," she winked at the younger girl. "So the party's at a frat house. If you drink, don't take it from anyone else. Make your own or watch it being made. Don't talk too much to the frat boys and if they try to take you upstairs, deck 'em. Of course, I won't leave you alone. If I do it'll be with a Tenten approved guardian," she grinned.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Sakura asked flatly. She had already known everything Tenten had told her, she wasn't stupid of course, but the last part caught her off guard and made her bristle.

"Well, yeah. You aren't really the social type, Sakura. You need a guardian you know to make you feel better, so either Shisui or Naruto."

"Or Sasuke. I've found that I don't want to punch him in the face so much anymore." Tenten laughed. She had never known Sakura to be anything but sharp or annoyed. She pulled into a parking lot beyond which were at least six houses, two of which were lit up and emanating music.

"We're going to that one," she pointed. "I know Naruto's there." Sakura nodded. Tenten led her to the house and she just went in. Sakura followed her closely. She didn't want to be left alone here. The older girl seemed to understand and didn't mind her being a shadow. She picked up a couple cups and filled one with beer and the other with punch. She handed the punch to Sakura. "Make it last the entire night," she said, yelling to be heard over the music. "There's nowhere where you're going to find a regular drink, so make it last so no one tries to get you drunk." Sakura nodded, taking the cup. She didn't take a drink from it just yet. Tenten gestured to move deeper into the house and Sakura followed her.

"Here," she got her to an isolated corner. "Don't put your drink down." Sakura rolled her eyes and Tenten laughed. "Okay, okay. I'll be right back. I'll go to find some of your friends." Sakura wanted to say only Naruto was really her friend, but she just shrugged and let her roommate go.

Frat parties were pretty obnoxious, she thought as she lifted the cup to her lips, taking a small sip. It didn't taste bad, but it was definitely rife with alcohol.

"Hey, want to dance?" a guy with a wolfish grin came up to her and she gave him a look that obviously said get away. He didn't seem to want to. His tanned face, red triangles plainly tattooed under his eyes, was precariously close to her face in the next moment. "Come on, you know you want to."

"I'm quite sure I know I don't," she said back immediately. His face was stunned for a moment, then he had that charming look back in his eyes and he went to wrap his arm around her waist. Did no boy in this college know what the word 'no' meant? Jesus Christ. She quickly caught his hand and pinched the nerve.

"Ow, let go!" his charming demeanor was gone in a second and he looked irritated. "I get it, I get it; you don't want to dance!"

"Yep, figure out when someone's not interested," she spat, throwing his hand down. He raised his hands in surrender and backed away. She simply glared at him until he melted back into the crowd of people. She raised her cup to take another sip. She didn't really know how long she stood there, half of her drink was gone, and Tenten finally came back, Shisui in tow. She raised a brow. She thought Naruto was somewhere to be found.

"Sorry, Naruto's sucking face," Tenten made a face and pulled Shisui out from behind her. "Here, a better friend than me," she smirked at the younger girl. Sakura shrugged.

"Aw, hey there, ass muncher," Shisui greeted her loudly.

"Oi, not nice!" Tenten smacked him.

"It's fine, it's how we greet each other," Sakura said loudly, shrugging. Tenten looked dumbfounded for a moment before she broke out laughing.

"Don't ever date! You two would eat each other alive!" she said before raising a hand in farewell. "I'm off to seduce a man!" she turned and melted among the crowd. Shisui moved to lean against the wall beside Sakura and grinned down at her.

"What?"

"You're wearing my jacket," he was grinning stupidly. He took her drink from her hand and downed the rest. "Time to get more," he winked. He grabbed her hand and pulled her through the crowd until they made it back to the table of drinks. He poured her another one and got one for himself. "Come on," he led her through the house to a dark room. It smelled heavily of pot and there were quite a lot of people sitting around a circular table, packing another bowl. The music was quieter here and she was grateful. Shisui sat her down in a free seat on a couch and hopped up on the arm. "I never pegged you for a party girl," he said easily. It wasn't loud in here, but no one was really paying attention.

"I'm not. I came because Naruto would want me to," she checked her phone. "See?" she showed it to him. There were five texts from Naruto telling her she should come to the party. She texted him back that she was already there.

"I hope I can sway you like that one day," he grinned at her and took a drink. She did the same. The alcohol wasn't really affecting her, but then it usually didn't unless she drank to excess. She had an uncanny tolerance to the stuff. She leaned on Shisui's leg and she felt his hand on her shoulder. He was making her feel safe right now.

"Want some?" the guy on her other side was handing her a bong. She took it from him and ripped it, hard. The guy looked at her, concerned, and Shisui was slightly impressed. She handed it off to the next person. "You okay?"

"Fine. Why?" she took a sip of her drink.

"You just ripped the hell out of that!" Shisui was looking at her, wide eyed. "I never pegged you for a party girl, much less a stoner!" He laughed and laughed, he couldn't get it out.

"Did you want me to talk or not?" the guy next to her laughed at her now. Shisui shook his head.

"Obviously you just want to loosen up, huh?" Sakura shrugged.

"It's how I have a good time."

"Me, too," the guy on her other side said. He stuck out his hand. "I'm Kankorou, how about you?"

"Sakura," she ignored his hand. He let it fall and leaned back into the couch. He had never really met a girl that could rip a bong like that and was quite impressed.

"That your boyfriend?" he asked, eyes closed.

"I assure you, sir, I am not," Shisui said with mock gallantry, "If I was, I'm sure I would be dead." That got a laugh out of both Sakura and Kankorou. He grinned down at Sakura. Obviously she was enjoying herself, immensely so.

"Then I'm not going to try and make a move. If you'd be dead, I don't know what would happen to me." That got a laugh out of Shisui and Sakura just rolled her eyes.

"I'm sure I'd punch you in the throat," she said flatly. He laughed again. This girl was hilarious, that was for sure. Shisui couldn't get his laughter out fast enough. He knew Sakura had a dry sense of humor, but she was really going at it today.

"Is a girl named Sakura in here?" Naruto all but yelled into the quiet room.

"Present!" Sakura raised her hand and fell back against the couch, giggling.

"She ripped the bong, huh?"

"Oh yeah she did," Shisui was laughing again. "The cunt muffin's a hoot when she loosens up, Naruto, why didn't you tell me?" Sakura laughed at his newest insult.

"Cunt muffin isn't nice you know!" Kankorou shouted from her other side.

"Well, he's a dickbag, so we're even," Sakura laughed. Kankorou shrugged.

"Yeah, Sakura likes to get high when she's around people like this," Naruto was sheepish, rubbing the back of his head. He leaned in close to Shisui, "If she gets a little drunker, you can get her to dance with you," he said quietly. He glanced at Sakura, making sure she didn't hear him.

"Oh, that's good to know," Shisui had a spark of mischief in his eyes. Naruto grinned and pulled up a kitchen chair beside him.

"Oi, where's that bong?" he asked. It was immediately passed to him and he took a hit that nearly rivaled Sakura's.

"Not good enough, Whiskers," she said after he let it out and passed the bong off. "My hit was better than yours!" she winked. She was leaning on Shisui pretty hard now and he kind of liked it. She usually wouldn't touch him, not even a hug. He slid down the arm of the couch and sat next to her, wrapping his arm around her. She either didn't notice or didn't care.

"Oh shut up, Sak," Naruto laughed. "I could never beat you, either drinking or taking hits." Oh, he'd tried. Valiantly. She always won, though. He grabbed an unopened beer from the table and popped it open, taking a long drink. "I hate cottonmouth, you know," he laughed.

"Yeah, you seem to have that problem a lot," she shot at him. She leaned into Shisui's side and leaned her cheek on his shoulder. Her breath passed over him. She smelled like alcohol and pot. Not a bad combination, really. "Anyone got a cigarette?" she asked the room.

"Here," Kankorou passed her his pack and handed her a lighter when she pulled one out. "Not the best, sorry." They were the cheapest at the gas station.

"Don't care," she shrugged, lighting up. Shisui watched her, slightly astounded. How did prickly, cold Sakura turn into such a carefree, friendly person after a little pot and some alcohol? He shifted slightly, getting more comfortable, but she didn't seem to notice. She returned to his side, cheek on his shoulder, smoking. He didn't mind. He smoked, too.

"Remember Sak, I'll cut you off if you have more than twenty," Naruto winked at her.

"Wasn't thinking about going that overboard, but thanks, Whiskers," she rolled her eyes. He laughed. He liked it when she called him Whiskers. It was her nickname for him, alluding to the birthmarks on his cheeks. She only called him that if she was completely comfortable, and she seemed to be, pressed against Shisui's side like that. "Hey, where's your girlfriend?"

"Ah, her cousin made her go home with him," Naruto shrugged. "It's like eleven forty-five, I wasn't surprised." Sakura nodded. Hinata often lived under strict guidelines and that didn't seem to have changed when she came here. It wouldn't stop Naruto from having a good time, whether she was here or not, and Sakura was glad for that. She knew there were guys out there that wouldn't have fun if their girlfriends weren't around.

The bong was passed back to her and she handed her cigarette off to Shisui, who took a drag from it. She took another hit, just as big as the last. Shisui wondered if she would be able to stand after this. He passed her back her cigarette and took the bong from her, taking a small hit. He was already slightly drunk and planning on taking Sakura home. He didn't want to be too fucked up. He handed it off to Naruto.

"Here, watch Sakura," Naruto said, hitting the bong. He tried to take a bigger hit than her, but faltered when pulling it. She took it back and pulled the rest. He passed it off to the next person and looked rather sheepish.

"Not good enough," she sing-songed at him. He rolled his eyes.

"Yet again, could never be as good as you are, Sak," he shrugged. Sakura laughed.

"You want to dance?" Shisui leaned close to her ear to ask. Sakura finished her cigarette and tossed in the ashtray before answering.

"Sure," she smiled. Shisui reminded himself to thank Naruto later for giving him the hint. He got up, Sakura's hand in his and stopped beside Naruto.

"You going to be okay, kid?" he asked.

"Yeah, I got Sak's buddy to keep me company," Naruto laughed and got up, flopping next to Kankorou, who waved. Shisui only laughed and led Sakura out of the room. He pulled her to what would be considered the living room, where everyone else was dancing.

She was a surprisingly good dancer. She moved with him and, probably due to her intoxication, had no issue pressing her body to his. His arms were around her waist and hers were over her head and she was doing a good job at getting him a bit bothered. She turned at one point and he thought this is what heaven would be. Her small body was pressed flush against his and he could feel every curve, especially the ones she usually hid under sweatshirts and oversized shirts. His hands were on her hips, he was swaying with her as she moved, and he couldn't help but press his lips against her neck. She didn't seem to mind, not in the least. Her hand was in his short hair, pressing him closer, while she danced against his body.

He had a hand splayed across her stomach now, the other on her hip, and he still hadn't pulled away from her neck. Did she know what she was doing? She must. She was grinding against him now and his indication of being so bothered was obviously there. It must not be that hard to feel, but she didn't seem to care. His hand on her hip moved up her body to her chin and he turned it so he could kiss her.

She turned, not losing rhythm, and returned his kiss, full force. One of his hands was on her hip again and the other was buried in her hair, pulling her closer. He was loving this. He hadn't set out to kiss her, not tonight, but this is surely what heaven would consist of. A sexy little minx pressed completely against him, kissing him deeply and passionately. He had to pull away from her to breathe and she was turned around again, her figure pressed nicely to his again.

He couldn't help but go back to kissing her neck and he heard a soft, breathy moan come from her. He went after that spot again, stopping short of mauling her skin, and he was rewarded with more moans and a soft mewl from the back of her throat. His hands were on her hips, helping her grind against him, and she really seemed to be enjoying herself.

"We should get out of here," he whispered into her ear. She nodded. He was in action a second later, pulling her through the crowd. They were in the car a minute later and he was driving to his place. He couldn't get the feeling of her body pressed against his out of his head, not at all. He was still very bothered and thought Sakura was too. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were a hazy green.

He pulled her up the two flights of stairs into the small one bedroom apartment he rented and had her against the wall the second the door was closed behind them. She returned his harsh kisses wholeheartedly, her hands in his hair. He lifted her against the wall, achieving the contact he desperately wanted. He rocked against her and she let out a breathy moan. Fuck, was she sexy. He buried his mouth in her neck again, searching for the sweet spot she liked so much and knew he found it when a soft mewl left her. His hand was on her breast in the next second and she was arching into his hand, her own clasped tightly around his neck.

He pulled the coat from her shoulders and the shirt from her body before returning to her neck. Her hands were in his hair and she was tugging him up to kiss her; her tongue finding its way into his mouth quickly. He couldn't help the moan that escaped him and he pulled her from the wall, carrying her to the bedroom. He broke their liplock when he threw her on the bed, but he was over her in the next minute.

She certainly was a minx. She pressed her body to his at just the right times and pulled her bra off when he unclasped it. His hand was on her breast in the next moment, his tongue in her mouth, as he thumbed her nipple and swallowed her moan. He trailed kisses down her neck and latched on to her other nipple, sucking harshly as he teased the other with his thumb. She arched into his mouth, her hands in his hair again.

"Jesus Christ, Shisui, you're such a tease," she grumbled after a moan, squirming from his ministrations. He grinned at the sound of his name.

"That was the first time you used my name," he kissed her, biting her lip. "I hope you know I'll make you scream it tonight," he buried his mouth in her neck again. He quite liked her neck. She seemed particularly sensitive there and he quite liked the squirming it brought when he found the right spot. He made quick work of her skirt while he attacked her neck and had to pull back as he pulled it off, along with her leggings and panties.

He looked at her then. She looked absolutely delectable. She wasn't shy of her body and laid there, ready for him to take, lips bruised and eyes hazy with her lust, legs closed. He pulled her legs apart and kneeled at the end of the bed, pulling her to his mouth. She let out a sharp moan when his tongue collided with her clit. She was squirming while he massaged her clit and he had to hold her hips down so he could get to her more easily.

"Fuck, Shisui," he heard her groan. He couldn't help the smile that graced his features. She pulled away from him and he looked at her, disappointed. "You still have your clothes on," she pointed out. She grabbed his shoulders and got him onto the bed, where she pushed him down into the pillows. She attacked his neck now and found a sensitive spot almost immediately. His hand was in her hair a moment later and his other was pulling at one of her nipples. She moaned softly and pulled away, pulling his shirt over his head. She went to work on his chest and he let his head hit the pillows. Damn, her tongue felt heavenly.

His pants were off and he didn't know when she got them off of him. Her mouth was on his dick the moment after and his hands returned to her hair, guiding her though he knew she didn't need it. This just felt too good. She had a hand on his base and she was massaging the shaft with her tongue as she bobbed up and down. He had to pull her off him a few seconds later. He was too close to finishing and he hadn't even gotten to the good part yet. She took a look at him and crawled up his body, positioning herself over him.

She grasped his dick, rubbing it enticingly on her opening. He threw his head back, hands tight on her hips. Fuck, she was a tease. A very good tease, might he add. She pushed herself down just enough for the tip to slide in and gyrated slowly. Fuck this, he was ending her fun. He pulled her down harshly and let out a moan when she met his hips. God she felt nice.

Sakura ground into his hips, letting out a breathy moan of her own, hands splayed across his stomach. She really knew what she was doing. His hands tight on her hips, he impatiently tried to move her, but she wouldn't budge. She continued grinding herself against him and his control was slowly slipping away. He was about to lose it and she didn't seem to care. One more rotation of her hips and his control snapped.

All of a sudden, she was beneath him and he was thrusting forcefully into her body, his hands on either side of her hips. She grasped his arms and moaned, continued moaning. He leaned next to her ear.

"Say my name," he punctuated his statement with a hard thrust. She let out a loud moan. "Say it," yet again, he harshly thrust into her.

"Shisui," she moaned out.

"Louder," he had a bruising hold on her hips and he was positively hammering into her.

"Shisui," she cried out. He rutted into her again and again. He was so close, so close, and she seemed to be too. She had a bruising hold on his arms, certainly cutting off circulation.

"Come on, baby, louder," he egged.

"Shisui!" she positively screamed. With that he could only thrust once, twice, and he had to pull out. She looked down at the cum on her stomach. "That's quite a bit."

"I haven't had sex this great in quite a bit," he grinned. He got off the bed and scavenged for a clean towel, cleaning her stomach off before cleaning himself off. He collapsed into bed beside her and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her on top of him. He was absolutely tired now. He had never known that Sakura, cold, harsh, and prickly Sakura could be such a minx in the bedroom. He was glad he asked her to dance.

* * *

Sakura woke in the morning, very warm and very comfortable. She yawned and stretched, feeling an arm tighten around her waist. Then, a kiss pressed to her mouth. Shisui. She had slept with him last night, huh? A few remnants of the night before flew through her head and she returned the kiss, hands in his hair. Oh, she wanted him again. She remembered his lean, toned body and how he kissed her and thrust into her forcefully. The thought made warmth flow through her and she was at his neck again, sucking and licking.

"You are insatiable," Shisui said afterwards, his arm around her while she lay on his chest.

"I guess so."

Shisui was silent. He enjoyed this. He never thought Sakura would sleep with him, much less want to be there in the morning.

"This doesn't mean anything you know," he jumped at her words. It didn't? She was snuggled into his chest. She had slept with him the entire night. She had an obvious attraction to him and some kind of feelings from the way she leaned against him last night. How could this not mean anything?

"Of course," he heard himself say. "Why would it mean anything?" he stared at the ceiling. He didn't want her to see the hurt in his eyes.

"Good we understand each other," she was up in the next moment and he missed her warmth immediately after. She collected her clothes and was gone from his apartment not five minutes later. He sighed. He checked his phone. Five missed calls from Naruto, a text from Sasuke. He ignored the text and called Naruto.

 _"Hello?"_ Naruto's voice was thick from sleep.

"Why'd you call me?" Shisui asked. He was feeling quite depressed, laying alone in his bed, only a sheet to cover his nakedness.

 _"I wanted to make sure you and Sakura were okay."_

"Yeah," Shisui sighed, "We're fine." There must have been something in Shisui's voice that tipped him off, because Naruto seemed fully awake when he talked again.

 _"Did you sleep with her?!"_

No point in denying it now. "Yep."

 _"She rejected you, right?"_

"Yep."

 _"You shouldn't have slept with her, dude. Sakura's a great friend and all, especially after she's had a few drinks and a bong hit, but she doesn't know how to love someone else. She loves me to the best of her ability, but she doesn't really understand it. She really has never understood it."_

"But why not?" Shisui asked, exasperated. She seemed to like him. She liked being around him lately, that was for sure. Why couldn't she just want to date him, admit that a kiss and a night together meant something instead of nothing?

 _"Meet me at Torti's in ten minutes."_ Naruto hung up.

Shisui stared at his phone for a minute, confused. He shook his head and got up, throwing on clean clothes and rushing out the door. He noticed Sakura took his jacket again. So last night meant nothing, huh? He shook his head and shut the door.

"So why did I have to come all the way down here?" Shisui asked, a coffee in his hands and Naruto across the table.

"To make you promise me that Sakura never finds out that I told you what I'm about to say," Naruto said, face serious. Any joking comments left Shisui's head. If Naruto was this serious, he meant business. Shisui set his coffee down and nodded. "Sakura was in the foster care system with me."

"What?" how had he never heard this before? Sakura was a foster kid? He never guessed, never could guess.

"Yeah, that's where I met her. She got it worse than me and I don't know why. Probably because she was a girl. Remember, back in our hometown, about five years ago, that couple that was on the news with all the foster kids?" Naruto was looking at the table. He couldn't meet Shisui's eyes, not now. He was betraying his best friend and didn't feel good about it.

"The couple that was abusing all those kids? Yeah," Shisui didn't like where this was going.

"Those were her foster parents. She was with them for the longest time," Naruto sounded so sad. "They beat her the most. The man raped her almost every night for five years. She never breathed a word to me, didn't say anything to anyone."

"What does this have to do with now?"

"It scarred her for life, dude. She has terrible social anxiety. She has terrible anxiety and bouts of depression in general. That's why she pushes everyone away. That's why she ran out of the restaurant that day. She uses liquor and drugs to be able to talk to people. She doesn't know how to love because the only love that's been shown to her for her entire life was a brutal, twisted type of love. That's why she'll sleep with you but won't date you. She thinks sleeping with you is enough."

"She said it meant nothing."

"It doesn't mean nothing, not to her, she just doesn't want to get too close. She thinks you'll leave if she does. Honestly, she wouldn't be able to take it if you left. If you left now or if you left down the road, I mean. She's going to break at some point. So," Naruto set him with a serious look. "Either you want in now or you walk away now. You have to choose. You got yourself into this mess, dude. I can help now when she's not too deep, but if it gets more serious and you break her heart, she's not going to make it no matter what I do."

"I like her," Shisui smiled while he thought of her. She was brash, somewhat cruel, severely frostbitten in the way of life, but she was soft and sweet sometimes and those were the times he lived for. He worked so hard just to kiss her and he didn't want to give up yet. She was funny and her anger at being helped with anything was downright cute, and she was always around when he was lonely. "I don't want to give up on her."

"Then I'm holding you to it." Naruto looked down at his coffee. "I never really introduced her to you guys because she is the way she is. She's really harsh sometimes and never really gets along with anyone. She doesn't do well when faced with strangers."

"I noticed," Shisui said softly. "She took my jacket this morning. Does that mean anything?"

"That means everything, dude," Naruto looked happy for the first time. "It means you mean something to her. If you mean something, anything to her, it's easier to wheedle your way into her heart." He stuck his tongue out at the older man, who was slightly happier.

"That's better than nothing," Shisui sighed.

"So, you ever been to the lasertag place?" Shisui raised a brow.

"Let's go."


	3. Chapter 3

**Fluff and shameless smut ahead, ye be warned.**

* * *

Shisui stood outside her dorm for the first time since that day she'd read beside him. He didn't want to do this, but she was dodging his texts and would run away from him the first chance she'd get. He hadn't said anything about that night they'd spent together and had pretended like it meant nothing, but that didn't stop her from ignoring him.

He slowly started up the stairs and didn't pass a single soul. It was Thanksgiving weekend after all, everyone had gone home. Naruto and his kin had gone back home, along with all of his other friends. It was certainly odd walking around campus with no one around, but he didn't really mind it. He was finally outside her door and faltered at knocking at her door. He didn't know why, it wasn't like she was going to answer anyways.

Just as he finished that thought, Sakura whipped open the door and ran into him, falling back, stunned. He caught her easily around the waist and pulled her up to her feet. Her sharp eyes met his and she didn't seem to have anything to say. She didn't even throw a 'dickbag' his way.

"What are you doing here?" she asked quietly, looking away from him. He tilted his head at her in curiosity.

"I was worried about you."

"You saw me. I'm fine. Now go," she pushed away from him and tried walking down the hallway.

"Not so easy," he said, pulling at her hand. She shot a glare at him and tried to tug her hand away, but he wouldn't budge. His tenacity was certainly starting to piss her off. "Why have you been ignoring me?"

"Because I want to be left alone, like I've been saying again and again," she spat at him, trying to wrench her arm away from him. He held fast and fixed her with his own glare.

"That's not an answer." Naruto had warned him that she would push him away, didn't he? He never thought this would be easy, but he was determined to win her affection, whether it be as a friend or something more. He wasn't willing to give up, not right now.

"What do you want, Shisui?" she stopped trying to pull away from him. "Do you want me to tell you why I don't want any friends? Do you want me to tell you why I don't trust anyone and don't like being around strangers? What do you want," her anger hadn't faded, but she was crying now, angry tears. She was trying to pull away from him again, angry sobs pulling from her throat as she raged at herself on the inside. Why was she crying? She didn't want to cry right now. She was too angry to cry at him, but here she was.

"Yes." He amswered.

"No." Her answer was immediate and she didn't take any time trying to pull away from him again. She was crying still and he pulled her to his chest, holding her tightly. She fought him, pushing against his chest and hitting him, trying anything and everything to get away from him. "Let me go, will you?!" she pushed against him harshly, but he held fast. He was quite a lot stronger than she was and she really couldn't hope to get away from him lest he let go.

She tired herself out after a while. She sagged against him and still cried, her anger seeping out in the way of tears. He held her close and his arms were tight around her, but she didn't want his embrace. She wanted him to leave her alone, for fuck's sake.

Shisui noticed when something changed. Her hands were clenched in his shirt and she sagged heavily against him, sobs of sadness, instead of anger, wrenching themselves from her. He didn't really know what to do now. He didn't often make it a habit to have crying girls in his arms, much less extremely prickly ones like Sakura.

Five minutes later and she still hadn't stopped crying. Sighing, he bent and lifted her into his arms, walking into her room. He sat on her bed, her body in his lap, and held her close to him, trying to comfort her in a way he didn't quite know. She didn't even notice he picked her up much less the change of scenery and position.

She slowly calmed down and was finally calm fifteen minutes later, her hand lying slack on his chest and her head on his shoulder. She would sniffle every not and then, wipe her eyes every time, and lay her hand back on his chest. He didn't know what to say to get her talking again, merely held her while he stared blankly at the ground. She felt nice here.

"Please go away," she said softly. He hugged her closer and she didn't try to push him away. She seemed to have given up. She had certainly tired herself out. Her breathing was slow and she leaned heavily against him.

"Not a chance," his voice was just as soft. "I like being around you, silly. Is there a problem with that?"

"Yes. I don't want friends. I don't want you to like being around you. I keep insulting you and you just laugh it off," she seemed about to cry again. "I just want to be left alone!" she curled in on herself, turning herself into a ball on his lap, tuning the world out. Her hands were in her hair and she cried into her knees.

"Why are you so hell bent on being left alone? I think you're hilarious. I think your sarcasm is great and when you finally smile it's like the sun's shining. I like being around you and being your friend. What's wrong with that?" he stroked her back and ran his fingers through her hair. She pressed her cheek into his shoulder. Funny, even though she was rejecting and yelling at him, she was still pressed to him.

"Everything," she mumbled. "People don't like me unless they're Naruto."

"Well, I'm not Naruto and I like you," he rested his cheek on the top of her head. "You're just going to have to deal with that." Sakura sighed. "What's with the hatred against people, anyways?" he hugged her to his body again and she didn't try to fight him.

"People have always hated me or pitied me and so I hated them right back," she said softly. "Everyone in my life, except Naruto, betrayed me in one way or another. That's just how it was and that's how it'll always be." Shisui was rubbing her back and it felt so nice. She was quickly becoming sleepy and didn't want to talk anymore.

"Tell me something about your past. I don't know anything about you," he said quietly, hoping she would. She mumbled and shook her head. "What?"

"I don't want to make you pity me, too," she said louder. She sounded so sad and forlorn; he couldn't help but hold her tighter. He didn't want her to cry again and so brushed his fingers through her hair. It seemed to make her feel better earlier.

"What if I promise I won't?"

"But you will!" she said immediately.

"I could never pity you. Don't you remember? You're the one that insults me every chance you get. Half of me hates you," he was teasing her, trying to make her feel better, trying to make her comfortable enough to get her to talk. Sakura just lay against his chest, dead tired. She didn't want to talk. She gave up on making him go away.

"Naruto probably let it slip by now," she said dejectedly. She still didn't give him a look. She found it tough to say the words she'd kept in for so long. "About the foster parents that abused all the kids. There were four of us, but I was there the longest," she was talking so quiet he had to lean closely to hear her.

"How long?"

"Seven years," she was staring at his chest, but obviously not seeing it. She pressed her body harshly against his, squeezing her eyes tightly. She could see all the bruises they'd given her. Though they were long gone, she remembered and could see them, plain as day, on her skin. It bothered her immensely and she couldn't think much about it. He knew she got it the worst. She seemed to be remembering it with the way she was pressed so harshly against him.

"It hurt a lot," she said tonelessly. "I'm very good at patching wounds though, as if that's a good thing. They liked to beat me when the younger kids got in trouble at school or did something stupid in the house. I protected them."

"Do any of them still talk to you?" Sakura shook her head.

"I don't want them to. They were little kids when I lived there. I'm pretty sure one turned out like me. Mean. The other two I don't know." Shisui wondered if the kids that were in that foster home remembered her and if they were grateful for what she did for them.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" he asked, wondering.

"That would have gotten me taken out of the home, not the other kids. The foster care system is overpopulated with kids that need places to go. I could have raised an alarm about them, but that wouldn't have stopped the government from placing someone else there that couldn't deal with it." Shisui pressed his lips to the side of her face and she didn't automatically pull away. She closed her eyes and clenched his shirt in her hand. "When the town found out, people looked at me with pity. They wanted to be my friend because they felt bad for me and I got angry. Why did it have to happen to me? Why couldn't it happen to someone else? I got angrier and angrier and started lashing out at everyone. I guess it stuck with me."

"Well, yeah. What happens in our childhoods stick with us and shape us into who we are today. You're only cold and heartless because you had to be back then," he was trying to tease her and she took it the wrong way. All of a sudden she wasn't leaning against him so nicely and had let her hand fall to her side. "Calm down, Sakura, I was teasing. I don't mean you really are heartless. I know you aren't."

"Are you sure?" she looked at him doubtfully. He smiled at her.

"You're sitting in my lap and telling me about the shit that happened all those years ago. You're not heartless, just guarding yourself," he held her tightly against his chest and she reached to wrap her arms around his neck. She liked the feel of his body. She always liked the feel of his body, had decided the night of the party well over a month ago.

They sat there in silence for a long few minutes, until Shisui broke it by saying, "You want to go out for dinner?" She shrugged. "Come on, it's thanksgiving, we have to get some food into you anyways. Just you and me," he grinned down at her.

"Fine, fine," she muttered. She didn't try and pull herself out of his embrace, though. It was nice. He didn't want to move her, who knew when he would get a chance to hold her again? He sighed and set his hands around her waist, pulling her off his lap and setting her on the floor. She turned and stare at him

"Let's get going then."

"I have to change," she looked down at her pajama pants and tank top. He only laughed and nodded, sitting back down on her bed. She went to her closet and pulled out some jeans and a sweatshirt. She began changing in front of him.

"Woah! Hey, watch yourself, shitface," he thought it was high time they get back to the regular way they talked.

"You've seen it, what's the big deal?" she asked, pulling her jeans up. She pulled her tank top down to put a bra on and shrugged on the sweatshirt. He was watching her avidly, almost wanting to reach out and touch her. He liked her body and she was plainly showing it off. He reached out for her arm and pulled her close to him, standing up in the process. He pulled her close by the waist and kissed her. She didn't seem to want it at first, her hands were on his chest, in the process of pushing him away, but she relaxed after a moment and kissed him back. He was throwing a party in his head at her reciprocation.

"Come on," he slid his hands to hers and pulled her out the door. He brought her to the car, noting that it was pretty chilly even though it was only one in the afternoon. He held the door open for her and there wasn't even a fight to get her in.

"Where are we going?" she asked as he turned on the car and the heat.

"The store," he grinned at her. She gave him a confused look, but he only kept the grin on his face in answer to her silent question. He was pulling into the grocery store a few minutes later and she made no move to get out. "Don't worry, I won't make you come in," he said, smiling. She only nodded, staring out the window. He sighed.

He wasn't making turkey. Screw that; how was he and Sakura going to eat all that? He decided on pasta instead. That was a much better choice. He got things to make meatballs and a salad, some chips for a snack if she was hungry.

"What'd you get?" she asked when he got back in the car.

"It's a surprise," he grinned. She scoffed and turned away.

"Yeah, okay dickbag," she said flatly. She seemed to be feeling like her old, grumpy self again. He took off towards his apartment.

"Why do you call me that?" He had come to accept the term as endearment, but he still didn't understand why she referred to him as that instead of his name. He would much prefer 'Whiskers' to 'dickbag.'

"I think you're a dickbag, hence the name. Why do you care what I call you, anyways?" she said despondently, staring out the window at the barren trees and browning lawns. The fall was giving way to winter and she could feel the cold in her soul. She didn't like when winter came. It made her feel colder than usual and her depression came out more often.

"Because dickbag isn't exactly the nicest thing ever to call me," Shisui grumbled.

"I'm not changing it," she said flatly. He only shrugged. Whatever, like he could get her to stop calling him that, anyways. He pulled up to his apartment and grabbed the bags from the backseat. She followed slowly behind him as they climbed the stairs. He let her in before him and tossed the bags on the counter when he got in. "Are you telling me what you're making now?" she asked, brow raised.

"Nope, go watch TV," he grinned at her and pet her head. She glared at him and took a seat at the small bar he had that doubled as another counter. He only rolled his eyes and started cooking. He was completely aware of her eyes on him the entire time and he wondered why she was so interested in watching him.

She liked watching him work. He was all lean body and toned muscle and she liked to see it. It reminded her of that night and she found herself becoming quickly uncomfortable. She had avoided him all that time because she knew she was attracted to him and found it hard to control herself when they were alone, as they often were. She had to look away from him for a moment, but she was already bothered and it pissed her off.

"Do you like pasta?" he was asking.

"I don't like most food," she snapped at him. Damn, she was in a bad mood. His back was turned to her and he didn't want to look at her. He feigned cheeriness at this point.

"What got up your ass, cunt muffin?" he turned to see her, but she was already up, moving to the couch. Did he say something wrong? He couldn't think why. She was back a minute later with a book she'd stolen from his bookshelf. She didn't spare a glance at him. "Well, if you don't like food, how do you eat?"

"Just because I don't like it doesn't mean I want to die," she shot back at him. She avoided looking at him at all costs. He laughed at her words and she pulled a face. Even his laugh was getting to her and it was starting to piss her off more.

"That's good," he said easily. He knew how to deal with her when she was grumpy. She was always grumpy. He leaned across the counter and stared at her for a long moment, some tomato in his hand. "Do you like this?" she looked up and he held it to her mouth. She glared at him. Did he know what he was doing to her and just playing with her or was he really teasing her? She didn't know. It certainly was frustrating.

"No." He pressed it to her mouth and she grudgingly opened her mouth. He shoved it in and watched her chew it slowly. She glared while she swallowed it. Tomatoes weren't her favorite, but she was fine with them. She just didn't want to give anything to Shisui.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" he asked, smiling. She glowered. "Again, cunt muffin, what's up your ass?" he couldn't figure out why she was so pissed off right now. He didn't think he was doing anything wrong, he was even cooking her food and she was still being pissy! She glared at him for a long moment and he almost turned around. He was glad in the next moment when he didn't.

She stood and pressed her hand to the back of his neck, pulling him to meet her lips. Surprised, he didn't quite know how to react. He kissed her back, harshly, hands in her hair and tugging it. She was reciprocating, hands on his upper arms and squeezing the life from him. Her tongue was in his mouth and her hands were in his shirt now, tugging him close to her.

"Fuck, what was that?" he asked when she finally pulled away. She sat back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest. She glowered at him.

"Nothing," she said tonelessly, staring at nothing in particular. No matter how hot he made her, he was still pissing her off to no end. She didn't want him around, even if she was attracted to him. Shisui was near her face again and she looked at him. "What."

"Come here," he grasped her chin and pulled her to meet his lips. She blinked. His kiss was soft and sweet, the exact opposite of her harsh one. She couldn't make her hands move to push him away. They betrayed her by grasping his shirt and pulling him in closer. His hand was on the side of her face and she leaned into it while he gently bit her lip.

"Dickbag," she grumbled when he pulled away. He laughed.

"I may be a dickbag, but you are a sweetheart," he winked. She glared. She pulled him back to her and kissed him harshly again. He certainly enjoyed her attention at the moment.

"Stop it," she shoved him back.

"Stop what?"

"Stop being a dickbag!" she crossed her arms and glared at him.

"I don't know how to stop being something that's inherently me," he said easily, pulling himself away from the counter. He pulled the pot of boiling spaghetti off the oven and emptied it into the strainer, opening the oven for the meatballs. She watched him, the glare still plainly on her face.

Not long after, he placed a plate in front of her. He sat next to her and began eating his own plate. She ate slowly, still fuming. Why'd he have to be so attractive? She couldn't help but kiss him when he was right in front of her at this point and it was getting annoying. Why'd she have to kiss him? Why'd she have to get in bed with him and have the memories of his body over hers? She hated herself at this point.

"Eat," he said, watching her. She took another slow bite. He was a good cook, at least. She was only half done with her plate when he was already finished. He watched her eat the rest and took the dishes to the sink, washing them quickly. He was surprised when he felt small hands on his waist. He looked over his shoulder.

` "What?" she grumbled, pressing her lips to his neck. The plate he was holding fell back into the sink and he couldn't think for a half second. Her lips were digging into his neck and he was quickly losing it. Jesus Christ, her lips. He forgot how her lips felt on his skin and wondered why she was feeling so affectionate today.

He turned, slightly upset that he lost her lips on his neck, and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. "What's gotten into you today?" he asked, not sure he'd get a straight answer.

"You are making me bothered," she said, stony faced. "I am pretty pissed off about it and I don't like the fact that I want you," she was glaring at his chest.

"Why not?" Shisui was pretty dumbfounded. Why was she pissed off that she wanted to have sex with him?

"Because I've been trying to get rid of you for weeks!" she hit his chest, still glaring at it. "You keep showing up and making it harder to ignore you and the fact I really like having you around," she was warring with herself, he realized. She recognized that she liked him, but was trying her best to stay away from him because she thought he would betray her.

"Why don't you want me around?" he raised her chin with a fingertip, "If you like me around, why not keep me? It's not like I'm going anywhere." She glowered and tried to push away from him, get him at a safe distance where she could put her walls up again. He lifted her and set her on the countertop, her body flush against his.

"You'll leave!" she hit his chest again, though it was pretty hard with him so close. "They all leave! You won't stay. Why would you stay? I'm broken and nothing can fix me and I'm a harsh, mean girl that can't be nice to anyone, even if I do like them around!" Great, now he made her upset.

"Look," his nose was in her neck and hand in her hair. She could feel her heart pounding and the blush on her face. It made her angry; why did her body have this reaction when her mind did not? "I promised Naruto I wouldn't just up and leave. You admitted you don't want me to by saying you like me around. I haven't left yet. I've been annoying the hell out of you for months. Get used to it."

"But I don't like you," she was trying to shove him away and trying to forget how nice he smelled and how good it felt to be in this position with him. "Will you just get away from me? Please!" she shoved him again, but he didn't let her go. His hands were on her hips now, slowly grinding into her and she clenched his shirt in her hands, shutting her eyes tightly. Why was he teasing her?

"Not until you give in to me," he said softly against her ear. She shook her head. What did he want her to give in to? His body? Or that he wasn't going anywhere? He pulled her hair away from her neck and buried his lips in her skin, biting and sucking mercilessly. She took a sharp intake of breath and his hair was in her hands, trying to tug him away, but he wasn't giving up any time soon.

She couldn't make herself tell him to stop. She really couldn't. She loved his body and what he was doing to her was killing her anger.

"Do you give up?" he asked slyly, grinding against her again.

"Fine, fuck, just don't stop," she ground out, pulling his head back to her neck. He grinned against her skin and his hands were moving up her hips, pulling her shirt over her head. His shirt was gone at the same time, Sakura too annoyed with him to wait. He threw her bra somewhere and he had her breasts in his hands while he kissed her, squeezing and pulling her nipples. She moaned into his mouth and pushed him away. "I want you now, you fucking tease," she glared at him. He grinned.

"If you want it, you got it," he pulled her off the counter and turned her around, bending her over it instead. He pulled her jeans down to her knees and opened his just enough to free himself. He plunged inside of her and let out a long groan. He ground his pelvis against her ass and she let out another moan.

"Stop teasing," she said roughly, her hands grasping the underside of the counter. He pulled himself out just to ram roughly back into her and produce a rather loud shriek from her. "Fuck, Shisui, stop teasing!" He grinned and plunged into her again, earning himself another shriek.

"Only if you keep saying my name," he said sharply into her ear. She shrieked again as he thrust roughly into her, again and again. His name didn't pass her lips for a few minutes and he tilted his head at the back of her head. Was she a little masochistic?

"Shisui!" she finally moaned. She continued moaning his name, over and over, until he was positively ramming into her and she was screaming his name. He grabbed her hips and began pulling her back to meet his own, plunging deeper than before. His name was still on her tongue, over and over, until he had to pull out and spill his load all over her lower back. He slumped against the counter for a moment, breathing heavily and hearing Sakura's harsh breathing as well, until he grabbed a couple paper towels and went to clean her off before himself.

"Is it so hard to say my name?"

"Dickbag." Sakura finally stood up, pulling her jeans up and looking around for her bra. "I'm going to be sore for a week because of you!" She found it and put it on quickly, her shirt coming next. "What's with you and me screaming your name, anyways?" she asked tonelessly, glaring at him.

"You never use it. I find it incredibly hot when you do," he grinned at her, pulling her to him by her waist. "And you love it when you're sore because of me. I have half a mind to make sure you'll be sore tomorrow," he pressed her closer to him.

"Jesus, no, my throat will be sore too, asshole," she struggled away from him slightly.

"Do you give up, though?" he asked, pulling her to him and hugging her tightly, "or do I have to wear your resolve down a little more?" She flushed and pressed her cheek to his chest.

"Though I'd like to say no, for my own sanity I suppose I should say yes."

"Good."

"You're still a dickbag."

"You're still an asshole. Come on," he pulled her along to his room.

"Oh, no, you are not confining me to a bed, assfuck." She pulled away from him. He laughed and caught her again, pulling her through the doorway.

"Don't worry, I might try and get your clothes off, but not for more sex," he grinned at her. "It might, however, be because I haven't felt your glorious naked body against mine in a while because you were avoiding the fuck out of me." He pushed her onto the bed. "Now strip!"

"That's not a nice way of asking," she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Do I have to convince you?" he was reaching for her and she pushed him back.

"Fine, fuck Shisui, you really know how to piss me off," she pulled her shirt over her head and had her bra off not long after. He grinned at her and leaned over her, pressing a kiss to her lips.

"You did something dumb," he said softly against her lips, helping her out of her jeans and panties. "You called me by my name, silly," he had her completely under him now.

"No!" she pushed him off of her. "I'll have sex with you later; I have to rest right now, dickbag." No way was she ever going to call him by his name again. She rolled over on his bed and showed him her back. He only grinned and shrugged off his clothes.

"I'll hold you to it." He climbed in next her, pulling up his laptop and turning on a movie before pulling her against him. She settled comfortably against him, completely tired, both from the raucous sex and the crying she had done earlier. "You tired?" he asked, softly, his hand over her stomach. She only nodded. "Sleep." She only nodded again, slowly.

He watched her sleep for a long while. She seemed almost normal when she was sleeping. She didn't seem like the cold, prickly girl he knew and loved. He pulled her to mold her against his body and smiled. He really had missed her body this past month. He pulled a blanket up to cover them, thinking she might get cold if she was sleeping in the open.

A little while later, she was awake. She turned over to look at him and moved forwards to sleepily press her lips to his. He turned her onto her back and leaned over her, kissing her still. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed him closer. He moved away after a minute and kissed her forehead. She smiled, a sweet smile for once, and was on top of his chest when he laid back down.

"You happy?" he asked, rubbing his fingers down her back. She closed her eyes and nodded. He pulled her up and kissed her again. "Are you going to make me stop kissing you?" she shook her head. He grinned. "Good."

"Mhm," she sounded sleepy still. Perhaps it took her forever to wake up? She certainly was warm. He reached over and played another movie. He was getting uncomfortable, lying in the same position, and pulled himself up to sit. Sakura didn't pull away from him and only moved to accommodate his new position.

"Comfortable?" she nodded. He wanted to laugh. Either she was awake and sassing the ever living fuck out of him or she was sleepy and silent. There was no in between.

"Why are you so insistent on being in my life?" she asked, voice tiny. She was so comfortable and warm; she finally let her guard down around him. Warmth sprouted in his chest at the sound of her quiet voice.

"I think you're adorable, even when you're insulting the hell out of me," he said, leaning back on his pillows. He earned himself a giggle.

"I hope you know, Shisui, you're still going to be insulted," she said, though there was a tone of affection in her voice.

"I figured," he laughed. He drew circles on her back and his other arm was drawn tight around her, holding her securely to his chest. She was completely comfortable right now; otherwise she wouldn't have used his name. She was a sweet person when she finally lowered her walls. He didn't expect it to last outside of his bedroom. She would never let anyone else know that she had latched onto him and he had to steel his resolve. It wasn't going to be easy to be with her like this, but he had to be patient.

"We should go for a walk," she said. She wanted to, but she also didn't want to leave his embrace. She could just return to his embrace later, though. That would be nice.

"I have a better idea," she was on her back in the next moment, his mouth on hers and his body pressed flush against her. She was distracted for a hot second, her hands somehow in his hair without so much as her say-so and her body reacting without her telling it to. When she caught up, she pushed him away, laughing.

"I told you, later!"

"It is later," he fixed her with a mischievous grin.

"Dickbag," she managed to squirm out from under him and began putting on her clothes. "Come on, douchenugget, let's go for a walk."

"Only if you promise to give me sex after," he grinned at her.

"Wow, you're trying to barter sex?" she fixed him with a skeptical stare, "I think that's how prostitutes work, not relationships." He was speechless for a minute, staring at her. She pulled her shirt on and realized he still hadn't said anything. "What?" she was concerned. Did she say something wrong? He was used to her sass, why was he silent now? "Shisui?" she was about to run if he didn't say something soon, he could see it in her eyes.

"Are you saying you're my girlfriend?" there was a stupidly big grin on his face and he was moving towards her. She flushed, speechless herself. He was standing over her in a moment, that grin still on his face and she backed away, the wall stopping her sooner rather than later. His hands were on her waist now, pulling her closer to him. "Yes or no?" She couldn't come up with the simple word and she could only wordlessly nod. She was being held harshly against the wall not even a second later, his lips harshly attacking her own.

His hands were pulling her up, fixing her legs around his waist and he was vaguely aware that her hands were on his chest, nails digging into his skin. She wasn't reacting much and he wondered why. Was she still not interested just yet? He forcibly calmed himself and pulled away from her, resting his head on her neck, taking deep breaths and managing to push away the need to take her again. "Sorry," he laughed breathlessly, "I couldn't help myself."

"I see that," she murmured, fingers gently pushing through his hair. He still held her against the wall and she couldn't say she wasn't aroused, but she really wanted to go for a walk. Sunset was coming soon and it was her favorite time to be outside, apart from the fact she really didn't want to have sex just yet. Her body may be reacting to him, but her mind was rejecting the idea. Perhaps later she would be more in the mood when she wasn't intent on taking a walk with him.

Slowly, he finally began pulling away from her, pressing one last kiss to her mouth. She reciprocated that one, but pulled away before he could get carried away again. He let her down and began pulling on his clothes, pulling a thick hoodie on over his long sleeved shirt. He set another around her shoulders. She blinked and watched him zip it up for her.

"Why?"

"You like my other jacket, immensely so. I thought you'd like another one." It really was thick. She couldn't afford anything this nice and hugged herself, warming up incredibly quickly, but she was getting too hot. Shisui grinned. "Come on," he tugged her towards the door. They were out in the chilly November afternoon a couple minutes later.

Her hand was in his and he didn't even have time to register his surprise as she began pulling him down the sidewalk. He wondered where she was leading him. She seemed to take a look at the sky and quickened her pace. They walked for twenty minutes and she finally pulled him towards the town's park. She was almost running now and he followed her easily, not even breaking a jog. She got him to the top of the big hill the kids usually used for sledding in the winter and she smiled towards the setting sun.

"I come here every day," she said quietly. "I like watching the sunset," she suppressed a shiver and he wrapped his arm around her, tugging her to his side. She let him draw her tightly to his body and watched the sun lower itself beyond the horizon.

"I have to say, I never imagined you doing something so peaceful," he said quietly, looking down at her. She didn't look at him. She shrugged.

"In the world of black and white where I live, it is the best shock of beauty and color I can find," she said softly. He looked at her in surprise. "In a life of cruelty and brutality, it is the calmest thing I have ever come across," she sounded bored, but there was an underlying tone of sadness. He felt an intense need to brush away her sadness and so turned her chin to him, kissing her gently. When he pulled away, she smiled, but there was still a look of sadness in her eyes. He wanted to make it go away and so hugged her close to his chest.

"I hope I'm not in black and white," he joked feebly, trying to make her smile, sass him, or something of the like. He needed to hear it from her. He didn't want her to be sad.

"Only your face," he thought she was sassing him, but her tone told him she wasn't. "You have black eyes and black hair, you're supposed to be. Really, you're the brightest thing I've ever seen, not even comparable to Naruto." He flushed at her words. She was a little poet, huh? Her words struck him and brought the warm feeling back to his chest.

"I'm glad," was all he could muster. They went back to staring at the sunset. Tonight the sky lit up in hues of gold and amber, pink alighting upon the clouds. She leaned against him, cheek on his chest, as she watched the sun slowly sink. They stood until darkness enveloped them and Shisui huffed.

"Come on, it's getting colder," he said softly, sliding his hand down her arm to grasp hers. She nodded and let him lead her away from the hill. He walked back towards his house, but stopped outside a small diner that was surprisingly open. She cast him a curious glance. "We haven't eaten since about two-thirty. It's about seven now and I don't have any food at home, so let's eat here." She nodded, telling him it was okay.

They seated themselves and a waitress was at their table within a few minutes. The place had quite a few people in it, mostly those from the college that hadn't gone home for the holiday. "Why are you guys open?" he asked the waitress when she greeted them.

"We're the only diner in town that does it," she shrugged. "The owners let the college employees run the place if there's enough of us during the holidays. We make quite a lot. Most of the college kids that stay end up here or Mcdonald's. I've been told it's better here."

"They're not wrong," Shisui laughed. Sakura wouldn't talk and looked despondently out the window. He didn't expect her to speak.

"So, what are you two getting?" she beamed at him, pen poised over paper.

"I'll get the ravioli and she'll have the supreme salad," he said with a smile. The waitress seemed rather surprised that he was ordering for Sakura, but wrote it down anyways. "Water okay?" he nodded. "I'll have it right up!" she smiled largely at him and turned and went towards the kitchen.

Sakura could feel her nervous tics coming out. There were too many people here and that waitress had been around too long. Her personal space consisted of a wide berth and she didn't like that Shisui had kept her around so long, talking. Her head jerked to the right and she squeezed her eyes shut. All of a sudden, everything was too loud. The music was grating on her nerves and the other patrons' conversations seemed too loud to her, adding to the annoyance of the music.

"Sakura," Shisui said quietly, placing his hand over hers. She tapped the table with her nail, trying to focus on the rhythm. "Sakura, calm down," he was sitting next to her now, his hand on her arm. She jerked her head to the right again, her neck already suffering from it. She hated her nervous tics. "Shh," he pulled her head to his shoulder, trying to help her. She let out a soft whine, but he was covering her ears and muffling the noise that'd been grating against her nerves. She slowly calmed down, though he didn't stop her head from jerking to the side. They became few and far between after a couple minutes and then they stopped entirely. He let her go and made to go back to his seat, but her small hand on his arm stopped him.

"Stay," she felt like he was hiding her from the accusing eyes and curious glances from the strangers around her.

"What was that about?" he asked, angling his body towards her.

"It happens every time I'm around strangers," she said quietly. "It happened the first time you met me, I don't think anyone noticed."

"I didn't notice your head jerking like that."

"That didn't happen," she said quietly. "My hand was shaking. That's why I didn't eat. I couldn't. Nervous tics come out at different times and I don't know why," she shrugged and wouldn't look at him.

"Well, you've got me around," he grinned at her and was pleased when she looked at him. "I'll keep you safe." She shook her head.

"Sometimes nothing will help," she said, looking down at the table. He draped an arm around her shoulder.

"Well, even if I can't stop it, I'll be around to help you through it," he smiled. "Say, have you ever been to a counselor?"

"It was mandated," she muttered, somewhat angrily, "He gave up on me, though. He was a government appointed counselor and didn't care to fight through my anger and explosiveness of the matter," she sighed. "It's in the past, but don't go saying that I should go see one. I don't have the money and I won't take any from you." He laughed.

"I wouldn't expect you to, cunt muffin," he said, nudging her shoulder affectionately. She was about to say something else, but the waitress came back with their plates. She smiled at Shisui as she put the plates down and he felt a surge of anger from Sakura. He waited until the waitress left. "Jealous?" he asked, pulling his fork towards him.

"Yep," she was blatantly truthful. He laughed at her bluntness and had to put his fork down for a moment because of his laughter. "What?" she asked flatly, fixing him with a glare. He shook his head for a second and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"No need for the glare, sweetheart," he laughed a few more moments. "I just didn't expect you to admit it so bluntly." He grabbed his fork again and she did so as well, but didn't go for her salad just yet.

"I'm not going to lie. You're an attractive man and a lot of girls want you. I see it all the time when I'm around you. It didn't bother me much before, but then I slept with you." He fought to keep his laugh at bay before breaking down again. He managed to get his bite down and then leaned over the table, laughing his ass off. "Why are you laughing at me?!" she was angry now.

"Calm down, Sakura," he looked down at her affectionately. "I knew you were blunt, but you're really going at it today. I can't help but laugh when that happens." She flushed and finally began eating her salad. He watched her for a few moments before continuing to eat his own. They finished their meal in comfortable silence and the waitress was back soon after.

"Here's your bill," she was smiling down at Shisui again and had unbuttoned a few buttons at the top of her blouse. Sakura knew Shisui had a good view down her shirt, but he only smiled at her and pulled the check towards him. The waitress walked off. Sakura huffed.

" _She's_ the cunt muffin," she grumbled. Shisui knew better than to laugh. He feigned annoyance for her sake.

"I don't understand why she'd do that," he thought he'd got a good amount of irritation in his voice, "Women have no shame nowadays." Sakura only looked at him.

"Thanks," she said.

"For what?" he looked at her in surprise.

"It doesn't piss you off, but you're agreeing with me to make me happy," she shrugged. It meant something to her, obviously, or she wouldn't say anything about it. It was nice to have someone do that for her and it was as unexpected as it was nice.

"I understand where you're coming from," he said, smiling at her. He opened the checkbook and his brow furrowed in annoyance. "However, this is definitely enough to piss me off." He didn't mind a little harmless flirting, as long as he could keep Sakura from biting the girls' heads off, but this was going a bit too far, especially since he hadn't reciprocated her flirting.

"What?" Sakura sounded like she didn't want to hear what he was going to say, but he knew better than to shrug her off.

"She gave me her number," he showed Sakura the piece of receipt paper with the girl's number and a scribbled _call me!_ with a smiley face. He watched Sakura's eyes darken in answer, but he pressed a hand to her shoulder. "Don't worry; I'm not going to keep it. You can watch what I'll do if you want," he grinned mischievously at her and she tilted her head.

"What are you going to do?" she asked curiously.

"Watch," he winked at her. "Go stand by the door so you can get a good view and so I can hold you back if you try to punch her."

"You know me so well," she said, pulling herself up. He got up with her and she went towards the door, watching the register where he walked.

"Ready to cash out?" the waitress was smiling at him.

"Yep," he smiled. She cashed him out and he pocketed his wallet before bringing out the receipt paper. "So, I really appreciate the offer, but, you see, I was on a date and you just pissed her off," he put the paper on the counter and leaned close to her. "I'm the only thing that was and is standing between her and ripping your throat out," he whispered near her ear. He pulled back and flashed a bright smile. "See you around!" he turned and pulled Sakura towards him by the waist, pulling her out the door. He waited until they'd walked away from the window to talk, "So did she turn red?"

"She looked terrified as all hell. What'd you say to her?" Sakura was laughing and he reveled in the sound. She didn't often laugh raucously, but he'd made it so and she couldn't control herself. He had to stop to let her get it out.

"I told her the truth. That I was the only thing between her and a pissed off girl intent on ripping her throat out," he said, smiling. She laughed harder.

"At least it was true!" she finally got out. She was almost on the ground now, her laughter hard to control. He grinned and pulled her back up to her feet. It took her a few more minutes of uncontrollable laughter and then she calmed down, sparse giggles still plaguing her as she began walking down the street with him.

"Glad I could make you laugh so hard," he said, the grin still on his face. She nodded. He pulled her up the stairs and let her into his apartment first. She waited for him and looked around, unsure of what to do.

"Are you going to try and get me in your bed again?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Not yet," he laughed. "I was going to read with you," he walked to the counter and picked up the book she'd abandoned several hours before. He tossed it to her and went to get one of his own. He sat on the couch and patted the seat next to him. She joined him. "Mind some music?" she looked at him, unsure. "Classical, Sakura, I wouldn't play anything that would annoy you."

"You win," she said, already opening her book to her page. He smiled and went to plug his phone in to his speakers. He pressed play and sat down next to her, opening the book he'd chosen. He'd been reading for several minutes before she was moving.

"What?"

"I'm uncomfortable," she said, a pout in her voice. He laughed.

"Here," he leaned back against the arm of the couch and let her settle between his legs. She leaned against his chest, legs stretched out in front of her. "Comfortable now?" she nodded. He had to lean his arm on the couch's arm and read his book from there, but he didn't mind. It was worth it to have her in this position.

He liked having a quiet night like this with her. She almost seemed normal while she leaned against him and read. He got to see a side of her today that no one else saw. Well, maybe Naruto, but from what he knew, Naruto saw it seldom. He had told her she could be sweet, but the moments were few and far between. She didn't seem to have a problem with showing it to him, though.

Sakura pulled the fleece blanket from the top of the couch and covered her and him as much as she could. She leaned back into his chest, laying on her side now, gazing sleepily at the book. He brought his book to the front now, since she wasn't in his way. She liked the feeling of his arms around her and felt happy as well as sleepy as she read.

Shisui nearly jumped when he felt her book fall to the side. He looked down at her and saw that she had fallen asleep, her hand limp by her mouth. He smiled. He put his book down and extracted hers carefully before turning the speaker level down with his small remote. He turned on the TV and settled in to watch something. He wanted to be awake when she finally woke up again, but reading would put him to sleep sooner rather than later.

He moved himself to get more comfortable and she didn't wake. She seemed so tired. Was she sleeping enough? He didn't know. He had only slept with her the one night, but she certainly was falling asleep easily against him today.

He laid there for hours, waiting to see if she would wake up again, but she didn't. Maybe she fell asleep early every night, he really didn't know. He pressed a button on the remote so he could look at the time. Midnight? Fuck. He wasn't about to sleep on the couch, or else he would be sore as all hell the next morning.

"Sakura," he shook her gently as he spoke her name. She woke up slowly and raised her sleepy eyes to him, a halfhearted attempt at a glare shot at him.

"Why'd you wake me up, dickbag? I'm comfortable," she was too tired to really snap at him, but she got her point across. He laughed.

"It's midnight, time for bed," he said, a smile in his voice. He sat completely up and managed to move her enough to be able to stand with her in his arms. Her head was planted snugly into his shoulder and he thought she might have fallen back asleep, but found out she hadn't when he placed her gently on the bed and noticed she was still staring at him.

"Where are you going?" she whined softly, "It's cold without you." He couldn't help the chuckle that passed his lips.

"I'm going to turn everything off and get my phone, silly," he pressed a kiss to her forehead, "I'll be right back." She nodded. She stared at the wall, waking up more and more until he was finally back in the dark room, plugging his phone into the charger. He was finally in bed beside her and she pressed her body close to his. She liked his body, both for how it looked and how it felt. She didn't mind the warmth he emitted either. "What's with all the affection?"

"You asked me if I give in to you," she said, giving him a sharp look. "I told you I did. What's the problem with affection? Didn't you want it?" she glowered at him and he laughed at her accusing tone.

"Oh, hush, Sakura, of course I don't mind the affection, I was only asking. Is it because I finally got you alone in my bed?" he asked sneakily. She rolled her eyes.

"You made it impossible to say no to you," she shrugged. "I thought you want my affection, so I'm giving it to you. You seem to understand I can only be affectionate while we're alone and you haven't tried to really drag me out anywhere," she was being extremely truthful and he was grateful for it. Though her words weren't really classified as romantic, he couldn't help but smile. She was trying and that spoke louder than words.

"Why would I want to drag you out somewhere? I'd never get your clothes off!" he earned himself a laugh. "Speaking of which, it's 'later,' isn't it?"

"You seriously think of nothing else," she narrowed her eyes at him.

"I don't think of sex in general. I think of sex with you," he grinned, "and your body," he pulled her closer. She glared at him. Did she want to have sex again? She weighed it in her head. On the upside, she'd get to sleep against his naked body. On the downside…there really wasn't a downside. She narrowed her eyes at him. He leaned down to kiss her. She kissed back and he was on her in a moment, on hand pulling her close and the other pulling her knee over his waist.

They lay, naked and breathing harshly, next to each other once Shisui had released her from his grasp. Sakura threw the blanket off her, thinking it far too warm.

"See, was that all that bad?" he asked, turning to smile at her. She glared at him.

"It's never bad to have sex with you; you just seem to want to make me scream every time." He tilted his head at her.

"Oh? Would you prefer something more gentle?" he was honestly asking and she knew he was.

"Well, yeah, dickbag," she shot at him. She turned her eyes to the ceiling. "I don't really have anything but rough quickies that satiate my need for another three months." Notwithstanding the first time she'd had sex with him. He had made it obnoxiously long and very rough, which she didn't mind at all, but she had stated they were in a relationship and he had agreed with her. Didn't that warrant something a little gentler?

"Noted. Next time I get you in my bed, I'll be nice," he grinned at her. If that's what she wanted, he could only agree. She turned to him and laid her head on his chest. He wrapped an arm around her, the other behind his head. "Did you want a movie?" he asked.

"Sure." She wasn't particularly tired now, not after what had just transpired. He reached for his laptop and placed it so she could see it and played another movie. She seemed to enjoy his video library and he didn't mind playing a movie for her every time she asked.

"So what are you doing for Christmas?" he asked, brushing his fingertips over her back. "And the break after it?" He half expected her to sit in the college dorms again, all alone. He thought about it for a moment and didn't even half expect it. He fully expected it.

"Staying here. I don't have a family, remember?" she sounded glum.

"Come back home with me. I mean, my parents died when I was really young, but I go to my aunt's house, Sasuke and Itachi's mother and father." Sakura pulled a vague image of a man that looked similar to Shisui, but with longer hair and a seemingly perpetually irritated look on his face. She thought about it for a moment.

"Uh, no. Remember the social anxiety and the general anxiety?" she asked, lifting herself to stare at him. Shisui laughed and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Don't you remember?" he laughed, "I told you I'd protect you and help you through the anxiety. It's not like my family is terrifying. You know Sasuke. He can be prickly, but he's pretty friendly to you because you're pricklier than he is. His mom is a smiley woman with a big heart and she loves everyone. His father is slightly terrifying, but he won't say anything to you, he'll just fix you with an ominous stare if he doesn't know you, but I'll deflect it for you. You've met Itachi. I talk to him a lot about you. He's my best friend as well as my cousin, so don't be upset. He can seem pretty harsh when you don't know him, but I'm sure you'll get a smile or two out of him with your sass."

"You aren't making me feel better, you know, you're just making me more nervous," she rested her chin on his chest. She just wanted to stay here with him, like this. It was fine being alone with him and didn't have a problem talking to him.

"Don't be, Sakura, I won't ever leave you alone, okay? And anyways, Naruto'll be there the entire time. His dad is friends with my Aunt and Uncle. You'll be fine." Naruto would be there? Naruto would get her out if he noticed she was breaking down. Shisui didn't really know the signs yet; he wouldn't know when it was time to take her away from the situation. It gave her comfort knowing Naruto would be there.

"As long as you promise Naruto will be there," she murmured. He smiled.

"I promise."

"Promise you'll never leave me alone, either. At least not without entrusting Naruto to my well-being," she laughed nervously.

"I promise, Sakura," he laughed again. "There's nothing to worry about. Just say you'll go with me," he waited for her affirmation.

"Okay," she sighed, acquiescing. He pressed a kiss to her lips.

"Time for sleep, silly cunt muffin."

"Alright, dickbag," she rolled her eyes. Funny how the terms were affectionate now. She returned her cheek to his chest and turned her eyes to the movie. She noticed that he was asleep before she was and had a fleeting thought. She thought she should leave now before she got too deep. He wouldn't miss her in the morning. He would forget about her eventually and move on to a girl that wasn't so broken.

She shook her head. No. Shisui would come looking for her, like he always did. He was obnoxiously on her tail, and she had given into him. Her muscles relaxed. She wouldn't let herself love him. She couldn't. She would wait until he got bored with her and would let him break it off. It would be a welcome distraction for a while, at least. She closed her eyes, allowing herself to feel comfortable in his embrace. She could enjoy it while it lasted, but she knew he would leave. They always left, except for Naruto. Naruto was her only saving grace. She fell into a restless sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Tell me why you don't hate this yet. I'm having fun with the sass and the endless smut. That's just me though.**

* * *

"So anything exciting happen while I was gone?" Tenten was back and Sakura was rubbing her temples in annoyance already. "What? Was it that bad?"

"No, I've just had a high dose of dickbag lately," she sighed. Shisui wasn't really leaving her alone lately and her mental health was suffering. The five seconds before Tenten walked in was the first time she'd really been able to be alone.

"Ah, Shisui been pissing you off?" Tenten laughed.

"Not really," Sakura sighed. She laid her head on her desk. The headache was beginning to get worse and the room was beginning to swim before her eyes, making her stomach hurt. "I like being around him. I like him being around a lot, but he habitually invades my personal space and I just want to be left alone for a few hours. He doesn't really get that." Tenten laughed.

"Well yeah, he's normal." Sakura narrowed her eyes at the older girl. "I'm not saying you're not normal, you're just a lot more introverted. He is definitely an extrovert. He likes to show you affection and I know you like it, but you can only handle so much." Sakura nodded.

"How'd you know?"

"I'm sort of the same. I'm nowhere near as introverted as you are. I'm pretty sure this is the first real conversation we've had! But I get where you're coming from. Are you dating him?" Tenten thought she was by her words.

"Not consensually," Sakura grumbled. Tenten laughed.

"How the fuck do you date someone in a nonconsensual way?" she couldn't stop laughing. Sakura waited patiently until her giggles subsided.

"He wouldn't leave me alone for months and didn't give me a choice to say yes or no." Tenten looked at her, confused and slightly worried when she saw that she was bent over her desk, head on the table and arms around her waist. Perhaps she really wasn't feeling well? She shrugged it off, Sakura could deal with it.

"Are you upset that you're dating him?"

"I guess not. I wasn't really looking for a boyfriend. Or friends, for that matter," she sighed. "Now I find myself with both and it's quite frustrating." Tenten couldn't help but laugh again. Even when this girl was grumbling about something she was still hilarious. Sakura shot a glare her way and she held her hands up in surrender.

"Sorry, sorry, I know it's frustrating when things don't go according to plan. You should just accept it," Tenten shrugged. "Why try to change it? Maybe your newfound boyfriend and friends will come in handy one day."

"I don't ever see that day coming about."

"You never do," she laughed. "Are you staying here for Christmas too?"

"I wish. The dickbag's dragging me back home to spend Christmas with his family." Sakura really didn't sound happy about it. She wanted to shut her eyes; the soft light from the lamps was beginning to hurt her head now, too. "He seems to think if he stays away for more than a day, I'll disappear."

"I would do the same if I were him," Tenten laughed, still watching her closely. "You basically disappeared for weeks until he found you last weekend. That doesn't sound bad, though. Why don't you want to go?"

"I don't like strangers. It took me weeks to say more than two words to you, remember?" Sakura sighed. There was a knock on the door and she groaned, both from the knowledge that Shisui had come by and the pain that resounded in her head from the sound. Tenten went to answer the door and found the black haired man on the other side, wearing a pleasant smile. Sakura didn't look at him.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked pleasantly. "Sakura around?"

"She's currently nursing a migraine, lover boy," Tenten shoved the door open wider so he could see her. He could only see that she was bent over her desk, head on the surface and hands resting in her hair. She just wanted to be left alone. She didn't feel well and wasn't up to leaving the safety of her desk. "Here, you can deal with the sour Sakura," Tenten smirked and moved past him.

He was beside her in a few seconds, the door closed behind him. He brushed his fingers through her hair, pulling her own away. She stared at her desk lamp for a long moment before closing her eyes. Her head might hurt and her stomach might be a little upset, but she could enjoy his ministrations.

"Come here," he pulled gently at her arm and she groaned. She didn't want to move. She felt nauseous when she moved. "Come on, it'll make you feel better." She let him pull her away from her desk slowly. She fell against his chest and he reached up to turn off the light for her. He slowly laid on her bed, getting her comfortable as well. "You okay?"

"No," she whimpered. Hearing his voice hurt, too, and she liked his voice. It wasn't annoying in the least, but any slight noise was getting to her. Shisui pulled her closer and pressed her head to his chest, brushing his fingers through her hair. She seemed to really like that. He didn't talk anymore. If she had a headache, it would only hurt her more. She shivered and he was confused. It was quite warm in here and she was wrapped in his arms. How could she be cold?

"Here," he pulled her blankets over her, surprised that they were so thin. How did she stay warm under these when it was getting colder? She shivered under the blankets, too, and he wondered if she was having a panic attack of some sort. She wasn't crying or hyperventilating, though. He shifted, uncomfortable. This mattress was certainly lumpy. "Hey, you want to go to my place?"

"No," she mumbled. "My head hurts and my stomach's upset."

"Yeah, but you'll be more comfortable. What if I carry you?" she was pressed harshly against his side and she felt so cold. "You feel like you have the chills."

"I do."

"Then, let's go." He sat up and she clenched her closed eyes. She didn't want to move. She hurt. She felt herself being pulled into his arms and she grasped his shirt in her hand, her head firmly planted on his chest. He felt burning hot compared to how she felt and she pressed close to him. He pulled her hood over her head so no one they knew would stop them and he set out. He made it to his car in record time what with holding a girl in his arms.

Sakura rested her head on the door while he drove. Her eyes were closed and a hand over her stomach, gripping her shirt tightly. She wasn't faking a sickness, he knew her well enough to understand that she would never fake it. It wouldn't have been so easy to get her into his arms or to get her over to his place if she'd been feeling okay.

She was in his arms again when he finally made his way up the stairs to his door. He managed to open it one handed and entered the darkened apartment. He didn't bother turning on the lights and brought her straight to his room. He set her in bed and pulled his heavy comforter over her. She immediately curled into a ball and was still shivering from what he could see.

He went to the kitchen and made her tea and a piece of toast. He didn't know if she had eaten that day, but knew she wouldn't be able to keep much down if she was feeling so terrible. He brought it back to the bedroom.

"Here, Sakura," he placed it on the bedside table next to her before climbing in beside her. She looked at it, but didn't reach for it just yet. Instead, she burrowed into his warmth. She was so cold and she didn't even know why. Her head felt so terrible and she was grateful he kept the lights off. Her stomach had not calmed down much either and she felt completely and totally miserable. Her only comfort was the fact Shisui's arms were around her and holding her tight to his body, trying to hold her as close as possible to absorb his heat. She could see the irony though she felt terrible. Her greatest source of comfort was the person she had had enough of to last a year and yet here she was.

"I'm cold," she muttered. His skin was so warm compared to hers, but it wasn't seeping through her thick sweatshirt.

"Take off your shirt then," he said, already in the process of doing so. She slowly pulled her sweatshirt and tank top off. He wrapped his arm around her and brought her close again. This felt better. It felt like he was scorching, but she was so cold and wanted it. She could feel the warmth of his thick blanket now and she was resting a little more comfortably.

"Here," he pulled his laptop up and played a movie, the sound kept low. He turned her over and pressed his back to his chest, wrapping his arm tightly around her, making sure she was as close as possible. She pulled his other arm down to give herself a pillow and she curled up into a tiny little ball. "Feeling a little better?" he asked softly, rubbing his hand over any skin he could get to, just to warm her up.

"Mhm," she was so tired now. Her head still hurt and her stomach was still queasy, but his warmth and the comfort of his body being so close was giving her enough comfort to sleep. Not to mention his warm hand brushing over her skin. It was comforting and she found she couldn't keep her eyes open.

He realized she fell asleep and was glad. Hopefully she could sleep the bug off and feel better when she woke. He pressed his body closer and dropped his head onto the pillows. Perhaps he should take a nap too. He hadn't had her body next to him last night and he found he couldn't sleep as well without her warmth and weight pressed close to him. When he closed his eyes he was out like a light.

* * *

When he woke up again, Sakura wasn't beside him. He rose slowly and shuffled out of bed. There weren't many places she could be in his small apartment. He walked into the kitchen and found her. She was heating up the mug of tea he'd gotten for her hours prior. She turned around and he couldn't suppress the smile on his face. She had the piece of toast in her mouth and she flushed when she caught him watching her.

"Feeling better?" he asked, approaching her. She pulled the toast out of her mouth, swallowing before she spoke.

"A little bit. I feel really tired, physically and mentally, but my head and my stomach have stopped being assholes."

"That's good," he patted her head. She leaned against his chest for a long moment until the microwave beeped. "Why don't you make a new cup?" Old tea couldn't possibly be that good and he had more than enough teabags to spare. She looked up at him, the mug in her hands.

"I did, I wasn't about to drink old tea, dickbag." She really was feeling a little better if she was calling him dickbag again. She leaned against his chest again, holding the mug close to her. She had stolen a soft sweater from his closet and she looked so very cute in something that dwarfed her so much. He leaned back against the counter and pressed his hand to the middle of her back, rubbing gently.

"Glad you're feeling better. I never thought I'd see you like that," he sounded amused.

"It wasn't like I wanted you to," she said softly, staring down at her tea for a moment before taking a sip. He laughed.

"I would've been a little upset if I found out you were sick and I wasn't there to take care of you. I'm sure you would have gotten worse if I hadn't been around to warm you up," he rested his cheek in her hair.

"So I should tell you every time I start feeling ill?" she asked, sounding not so happy about having to do something such as that. Shisui laughed and shook his head.

"I'll probably annoy you at some point during the day. If you don't answer, I'll be on you like peanut butter on jelly." She smacked him. "What?"

"That's a terrible simile," she said. She took another sip of her tea. He only shook his head again.

"I'm being serious, though. If you don't answer me, I'll think something's wrong." He knew she had little other people to turn to and wouldn't ask for help even if she really needed it, but he wanted to be there for her, even if she was puking her guts up and wasn't looking too pretty.

"Give me a time limit."

"Two hours."

"Three."

"Two and a half."

"Deal." She laid her cheek back on his chest, setting her tea on the counter so she could wrap her arms around him. He only smiled and returned the embrace, brushing his fingers down her back. He didn't want to let her go. This was a sweet moment and he didn't want it to end just yet.

"I'm sorry, you missed the sunset today," he suddenly remembered. They had slept through it and he knew she loved that time of day the most. He felt a little bad that she'd missed it. Sakura shrugged.

"It's fine. I have something much better right in front of me," she said softly, voice slightly muffled against his chest. Warmth spread through him and he couldn't help the stupid grin on his face, but he was quite happy she couldn't see it. She tended to look at him like he was crazy when he wore this grin.

"You haven't given me a kiss yet today," he said, a hand on her neck. She immediately moved to kiss him, her mouth pressed softly and sleepily against his. She really was tired, but didn't want to sleep just yet. His hand tightened on her neck, holding her closer, and his other hand was on the small of her back, splayed. She didn't stop kissing him for a few minutes, her hands gripping his shoulders. When she finally pulled away, she rested her cheek on his shoulder. "Hm…I think I like this Sakura more than the normal Sakura," he joked, his thumb stroking her cheek.

"You don't get it often, dickbag," she shot at him, though the words were softer than normal. He liked it.

"We should get back to sleep, sweetheart," he said softly, pointing towards the clock on the microwave. It was far past eleven and he knew she had to be up early. He knew her first class was at nine the next morning and wasn't going to take her back to the dorms tonight; he wanted her next to him tonight.

"Alright," she reached for her forgotten toast and ate the rest of it quite quickly, doing the same with her tea. She put her mug in the sink and turned off the light, slightly disoriented when the room was thrown into silence. Shisui chuckled and reached for her hand, leading her through the small apartment he knew so well.

She fell into bed on top of him and he heard a soft giggle pass her lips. He smiled in the darkness and rubbed her back, pressing her against his body. She clamored up his body to press a kiss to his lips, hands on either side of his head and his on her waist. His hands crept up her back and pushed her down so she was flush against him, landing with a soft sound of surprise.

"You're adorable," he whispered when she pulled away.

"I'm mean," her voice wasn't the regular one she used. It was far softer and a little higher. She was being cute! He smiled.

"Nah, if you were mean, you would have punched me by now, sweetheart," he kissed her again.

"Punching you has crossed my mind," she said thoughtfully, "However, if I were to punch you I wouldn't be able to get you naked anymore, would I?"

"Punching me would put a damper on my feelings for you, yes," he laughed.

"Remind me to deck you a good one then, dickbag," he could hear the smile in her voice and he pulled her down to kiss him again. She was melting easily into his kisses now and he couldn't help but be glad about it. He had spent a while fighting for every ounce of affection and now she was just giving it to him; he couldn't help but love it.

"We should get to sleep," he murmured, poised against her lips to kiss her again. She closed the minimal space and entranced him again, her hand on his waist. He suddenly realized he still wasn't wearing a shirt and he was oversensitive to her small fingers. He had to stop kissing her or else he'd keep her up for another hour. "Sleep, sweetheart," he whispered when she finally pulled away.

"Okay," she mumbled, moving off his body to curl into the curve of his body. Her legs were tangled in his and she was taking up most of his chest, but he didn't mind. He was usually pulling her against his body and wrapping his arms around her, it felt nice to be reciprocated every now and then. "I don't want to sleep," she complained twenty minutes later when he was in a light doze.

"Want a movie?" she nodded. He turned it on for her, making sure she could see it. He let his head fall back into the pillows and closed his eyes. Sakura was awake for far longer, but she felt herself growing sleep after a while. No thoughts of running crossed her mind tonight and she fell into a restful sleep, pressed against his body.

* * *

She was awake before him and in the shower. He treaded carefully into the bathroom, but she heard the door close.

"I know you're there, dickbag," she called, though her eyes were closed. She was just using shampoo on her chin-length locks. Shisui laughed.

"Mind if I get in with you then?" he asked, leaning back against the sink and watching the shower curtain.

"Do I have a choice?" she asked flatly. He laughed again and shrugged off his clothes. He climbed into the tub and found her back to him, washing shampoo out of her hair. He grasped her hips and brought himself under the spray. She finished washing the shampoo out of her hair and leaned back into his chest, closing her eyes.

"Here," he grabbed the soap and began washing her body for her. She merely kept her eyes closed and enjoyed it. He definitely focused in a few spots, but he hadn't kissed her yet, so she didn't try anything either. She thought that too soon; his lips were on her neck not long after and he was pulling her hips back into his.

She scoffed and pulled the soap from him, whirling around and cleaning him next. She didn't have time to have sex with him right now. She had to finish this and then get back to her dorm for her books and get to class. He watched her with an amused look in his eye and she pulled him completely under the water to rinse him off. She even washed his hair for him! She was surprisingly gentle, though quick, and they were climbing out of the shower sooner rather than later. He was dressed before her and she was pulling her jeans on before looking at him.

"Can I borrow another sweater?" she asked. She'd worn his other one all day yesterday and didn't want to put it back on.

"Why do you even ask?" he laughed, "You know you can just go in my closet and pick out whatever you want, silly."

"I wanted to ask, shitface," she snapped while she was drying her hair out.

"Well you don't need to, fuckface," he laughed. "I like the way you look when you wear my clothes, so take whatever you want." She flushed and nodded silently before following him back to his room. He looked around in his closet and pulled out a light gray wool sweater he liked. It was a tight fit on him so it wouldn't be too bad on her. He passed it to her and she pulled it over her head. It bunched on her forearms and the hem fell to her upper thighs, tight around the area. "See? Adorable."

"Shut up," she looked away from him, the flush still on her face. He laughed. He knew she'd worn the thick hoodie he'd given her at the beginning of the weekend, but he pulled a different one out of his closet. He'd wash the original. He set it around her shoulders and she zipped it up, enjoying how bundled she felt. Shisui really knew how to keep her warm when she didn't have his body around.

"Come on, before you're late," he said, grabbing at her hand that was half covered by the sweaters he'd thrown on her. She only nodded and let him pull her through the apartment. She curled up in the seat of the car, her legs freezing. It was certainly cold outside. The top half of her body was nice and warm, though.

Shisui drove her to her dorm and followed her up the steps and into the room. She got her bag and smiled at him, gesturing back to the door. "You hungry?" he asked. She had about twenty minutes until her first class started and he'd have time to bring her to the coffee shop she worked at for a muffin and a quick cup of coffee.

"Not really," she shrugged. He laughed.

"Come on," he pulled at her hand again. She just went along with it at this point and was back in his car a few minutes later. He pulled up to the coffee shop. "What do you want?" she shrugged. "A bagel and a coffee it is then, do you like anything in your coffee?" another shrug, "Triple-triple it is then," he laughed and even got a soft smile from her.

He handed her the coffee first and planted the bagel in her lap after. She was eating the bagel on their way back to the college and had finished by the time he parked. She was holding the coffee in her hands, willing for it to warm her a little. She hated the cold. Winter was her least favorite season both for the cold and the depression it brought with it.

"Can I walk with you?" he asked, already halfway out of the car. He had an hour before his first class and didn't like leaving her just yet. She only nodded. She allowed him to walk beside her, but she didn't reach for his hand and didn't talk much. "What's your first class again?"

"English language," she said, looking ahead. "It's the one with Sasuke. He's been pretty pissy lately. I don't know why," here voice was lofty, like she didn't really care, but he could see Sasuke's attitude was pissing her off a bit.

"Why don't you ask him? Sasuke's never been very good in English classes, so that might be why," Shisui shrugged. Sakura looked thoughtful.

"Perhaps, but I don't make it a habit to initiate conversation." She was at her classroom now and turned to stare at him for a long moment. "See you later?" she sounded rather uncertain of herself for a minute.

"Of course," he grinned at her. He grasped her elbow and pulled her in quickly to kiss her cheek. She was quite surprised, but accepted it. He didn't expect her to kiss him or anything of the like and just squeezed her elbow before saying, "I'll see you later, shitface," and turning to walk away.

"You're such a dickbag," she said loudly before turning into her classroom. She took her usual seat next to Sasuke, who gave her a slight nod in greeting. She pulled her book out and leaned her chin in her hand. Sasuke seemed rather tense today and she wondered why. She wanted to ask him, but couldn't make the words come.

"Hello, children," Kakashi walked in, looking rather cheerful, a tattered looking folder in his hand. He plopped it on the desk and opened it. "We're going to talk about your final project right now; you might want to take notes." Sakura heard Sasuke groan and she cast a curious eye his way. He didn't look at her.

Sakura pulled out a notebook and waited for Kakashi to talk. He seemed to wait until everyone had some kind of paper out, which was rather odd for him. He didn't really care to wait and would just start talking.

"Alright, you choose three books from the required reading list from over the summer. Pick apart the sentence structure and authors' voices, comparing and contrasting what made the authors' works better than everyone else's." Kakashi paused, waiting for everyone else to catch up. Sakura had already scribbled down his words and waited, eyes watching like a hawk. "It needs to be at least three pages, a page for each book. If the compare and contrast paragraphs are not consistent, it will be docked and if it looks and sounds like a rough draft of an essay, you will receive an F. Everyone got that?" There were nods from the rest of the class. "Great. No more class until the last of the semester, when I'll take your essays. I want you to go to the library every day. The head librarian will have a sheet from me that you will need to sign every day. If you miss a day, I expect the essay to be in my hand. Any questions?" One hand rose, Sakura's. "What, kid?" Kakashi obviously wanted to get the fuck out.

"Do we only need to go to the library every class day or do you expect every day?" she asked, eyes sharp. She was about to have a huge argument with him if he said they had to go every day, including days they didn't have the class.

"That's actually a good question," Kakashi laughed, obviously forgiving her for interrupting his quick getaway. "Only class days. I'll be in my office if you need to ask me anything," he said. He had a lot of paperwork he'd put off until now and the dean was getting on his ass about it. The dean knew he gave his students a huge final project and caught up on his paperwork then, but he still rode his ass all day every day. "Any more questions?" he waited. No one raised their hand. "Alright, get the fuck out," he grabbed the tattered folder and walked out.

"Fuckin' fantastic," Sasuke groaned. Sakura was just about to leave, but she waited. She leaned back against the table and watched him.

"What's up?" she really didn't care, but he was Shisui's cousin, so she had to give something of a shit. Sasuke looked up at her, rather surprised that she'd asked.

"I have a shitty grade in this class and unless I nail this paper, I'm not passing. I don't know how the hell I'll write it, though," he sighed, staring down at the table.

"I'll help you," she said stoically, not looking at him either. Sasuke jumped. Sakura? Offering to help? Who the fuck was this and where the hell did Sakura go? He was silent for a long moment, just staring at the table. "I've got an A right now, do you want help or not?" she asked, getting impatient.

"Please," he finally said. Sakura nodded sharply.

"Good. I'll see you in the library at nine am on Wednesday," she said shortly. She pressed a hand to his shoulder, "Bring your other essays so I can see what you're doing wrong. I'll help you pass, don't worry," her voice was sharp, but he still felt relieved. He hadn't thought Sakura was doing so well in class, hadn't thought to ask really, but hadn't really thought she would help him, either. He didn't expect her to offer, much less.

"Thanks," he said, slightly dumbfounded. She shook her head.

"I don't like it when you're tense. You make it annoying to sit next to you," she shrugged. Sasuke couldn't help the smile that brushed past his lips. How did his tenseness affect her like that? It was certainly an absurd thing to say and he couldn't help the smile. He would have laughed if he were anyone else.

"Alright," he didn't really know what else to say. She seemed to be waiting for him to get up. He finally did and she walked with him out the door. He followed her to the outdoors and sat with her on the bench.

"Sorry, I didn't want to be in there anymore. Do you have any idea what books you should use?"

"I read them all, but I don't remember what any of them are about," he said quietly, staring at the bare trees across the way. Sakura shrugged. She pulled out a sheet of paper and scribbled on it.

"Here, these three are going to be the easiest to use for the essay," she said, handing him the paper. He looked at them and vaguely brought up some points about each book, but couldn't remember the finer details. "I suggest you read them again."

"I need to," he groaned. He hated essays. He still had to take another semester of English, too. He was going to have to go through another hell again. Hopefully he could take his next class with Sakura again.

"Yep, if they're yours, take apart the sentence structure in the margins. Look," Sakura pulled out one of the books, one that he hadn't completely understood. She opened it and showed him. Blue and black scribbles lined the margins and the top of the page. "It'll make it easier to pick what you can use in the essay," she seemed to have prepared for this.

"Did you know what the final project was going to be?" he couldn't help asking. Sakura looked surprised.

"No, I do this to any book I have to use for an English class," she shrugged. "I'll probably be done with my essay over the weekend just because I'm good at what I do, but I'll be around to help you." Sasuke nodded, thankful for the help she offered.

"So I should start rereading these books and take notes in the margins?" he asked, uncertain. She nodded.

"You're catching on," she said. "The easiest books are the shortest and if you're as bad as you say, he won't be surprised that you chose them," she shrugged. "I chose the more difficult books, just because I want the challenge. This essay is challenging enough for you." He nodded.

"By the way, are you wearing Shisui's clothes?" he asked while they walked through the hallways to her next class. Sakura flushed and looked down at her sweater and hoodie.

"Well, your cousin doesn't exactly like letting me go home," Sakura said sheepishly. Sasuke wanted to laugh. She never sounded sheepish. "Therefore, I needed _something_ to wear and he attacked the crap out of me with sweaters." She wasn't really complaining about it, she was nice and toasty under all those sweaters.

"Shisui thinks he looks good in sweaters," Sasuke deadpanned, "He has a lot of them."

"I noticed." They were outside her classroom now. "So nine am on Wednesday?" she asked. He nodded. She was just about to turn into her classroom when he stopped her.

"Thanks for this, Sakura, I mean it," he said sincerely. She only vaguely smiled and nodded. She didn't know why she offered. She didn't know what made her do it, but he needed help and she didn't hate him too much so why not help?

"You owe me a shitload of coffee," was all she said, a smirk on her face. She turned into her classroom and left a dumbfounded Sasuke behind.

* * *

"She did _what?!"_

"Keep your goddamn voice down, dumbass," Sasuke hissed, hitting Naruto upside the head. The blond held his head and whined.

"You didn't have to hit me!"

"Sorry, it's a reflex," Sasuke said tonelessly. They were sitting in the cafeteria, tacos in front of them. The school had a culinary program and that was who cooked every day for the cafeteria. The food was quite good, though everyone knew by now to stray away from any pan with a tag that said _Ino Yamanaka_ on it. She was the worst one in the program and no one could stomach her salty-ass food.

"Anyways, Sakura really offered to help you?" Naruto asked incredulously, half a taco in his mouth. Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"Chew your food Naruto," he said sourly. Naruto rolled his eyes. He thought Sasuke was dodging the question. "Yes she really did offer to help me. You want to know something even weirder? She was wearing Shisui's clothes. I didn't even think she liked Shisui!" Sasuke wasn't really upset, not in the slightest. He had never wanted to get with Sakura, but knowing she was with Shisui in some way, shape, or form was surprising and threw his guard off.

"She wasn't interested in him in the beginning," Naruto laughed. "He was chasing her for God knows how long, though, so I guess she finally gave in." Sasuke nodded.

"Shisui has never been known to give up on something he likes," Sasuke deadpanned. Shisui was tenacious and crazy as hell for the Uchiha family. He wasn't as crazy as Naruto was, by far, but he was higher up on the spectrum than anyone else.

"I don't think it's bad. She seems to be softening up with him around," Naruto smiled. "I think it's high time Sakura got a little human in her."

"She's still cold as the ninth circle of hell," Sasuke grumbled. "But she's warming up, I suppose."

"Sakura's always going to be cold, idiot," Naruto said, looking at him like he was dumb. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him and he only grinned. "That's just how Sakura is. Listen, I'm going to go find Shisui and ask how he's doing with Sakura. I want to hear it myself," he grinned mischievously and grabbed the last taco in front of him before heading for the door.

"See you later, dumbass," Sasuke called.

"Bye, King dickhead!" Naruto yelled back. Sasuke threw his head in his hands; of course he had to yell that in a room full of people just waiting to judge him.

Naruto found Shisui after his last class and he fell in step easily beside him.

"Ah, I see I am graced with the wonderful presence of Naruto. To what do I owe this great pleasure?" Shisui's voice was laden with sarcasm, but he smiled at the blond nonetheless. He wanted to catch Sakura before work, but he seemed to have missed his chance. He held only mild disappointment. He could always pick her up at the end of her shift and enjoy her company then.

"Sasuke told me that Sakura was wearing your clothes," Naruto didn't beat around the bush. "Did you finally break her down?"

"Yep," Shisui responded jovially. "She finally gave up and I'm enjoying the hell out of it."

"I never thought I'd see the day," Naruto laughed. "Have you managed to take her out on a date yet?" He had never heard of Sakura going out on a date with anyone and thought it was an odd but hilarious thing to see.

"She actually freaked out," Shisui looked sheepish. He leaned against a wall and Naruto stood beside him. Obviously Shisui didn't really have anywhere to go. "I guess there were too many people or something and I witnessed a few nervous tics. I managed to deflect it."

"That's good. It's pretty hard to catch early if she starts trembling, but it sounds like one of the more showy ones came out," Naruto looked at the floor. "I'm glad she didn't have a panic attack, though. She would have been so mortified." Shisui nodded.

"Good I deflected it, then. It was funny, though. A waitress gave me her number and Sakura was about to rip her throat out."

"What'd you do?" Naruto was laughing uncontrollably. He could only imagine the look on Sakura's face when she saw the girl had given Shisui her number. He knew Sakura so well; he knew she would have attacked the hell out of the woman if she had the choice. Obviously, since Sakura wasn't in jail for murder, Shisui had had the situation under control.

"I gave her back the paper and told her I was the only thing standing between her and a pissed off girl that was about to rip her throat out," he laughed. Naruto had a new burst of laughter at his words. "Sakura said the girl looked terrified."

"I should think so!" Naruto managed through his laughter. Shisui only shook his head and grinned. "Anyways, does she seem okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," Shisui shrugged. "She's still sassy as all hell, but that's how it's been since I met her," he smiled. "I did get her to agree to come home with me for Christmas and the break after," he looked at the floor, the smile still on his face.

"How the shit did you manage that?!" Naruto all but yelled, complete surprise evident on his features.

"I talked her into it," he grinned at the younger man. "Part of it was you. She made me promise that you'd be there every moment and that if I had to leave she would have you," he sighed. "It was pretty easy once you came up honestly," he laughed. Naruto would always hold that one place in her heart that he could never reach. That was okay by him; he had his own place in her heart.

"Well, I will be around. Jiraiya drags me every year anyways," Naruto laughed, "But I'm pretty sure Hinata's going to be around too. She likes Sakura and Sakura doesn't mind her, so it's not a big deal."

"I figured," Shisui laughed. "Doesn't matter, anyways, you know?" he shrugged. "I wouldn't be able to leave her alone anyways," he smiled to himself. "I like being around her too much."

"That's good. Man, I never thought I'd see the day where Sakura would actually have a boyfriend," Naruto laughed. "I never thought I'd see the day where Sakura had friends other than me!" he laughed again. "She offered to help Sasuke with his final project in English because he sucks at life." Shisui nodded.

"She said Sasuke's been in a bad mood lately, I thought that was it," he laughed. "I'm glad she's helping him though."

"It means she changed a bit," Naruto smiled. "I know it's a slow process, but I thought college was high time she open up a bit and understand the world isn't black and white like she thought. Has she dragged you to go see the sunset yet?" he asked.

"Oh yeah," he laughed. "She said it 'is the best shock of beauty and color she could find.' I didn't think she was poetic. She seemed a little too harsh to have such pretty words," he smiled. Naruto nodded.

"She's good with words. She used to drag me out with her to watch the sunset almost every night. It was the only time she was ever peaceful and didn't seem so tortured. It was nice to see her like that for a moment every day," his smile was sad at this point, remembering painful points in his friendship with the girl.

"She said I was bright," Shisui said, a smile in his own voice.

"That's good," Naruto laughed. "For the longest time I was the only bright spot in her life. I'm glad she's happy for once." Shisui nodded.

"Hey, you want to go bother her at work?" Shisui asked, raising his eyebrows. Naruto laughed.

"Hell yeah I do!" Naruto laughed. He followed Shisui to his car and they went to the coffee shop. They could see Sakura's despondent expression as she served a customer through the window.

"Wow, seems like she really hates work, huh?" Shisui laughed.

"She doesn't like people, how do you think she feels working in a customer service job?" Naruto asked, amused. "She says no one really notices that she doesn't really smile. Most of the people that come in are tired college kids and they just take their coffee and go."

"Sounds about right," Shisui laughed. He opened the door and let Naruto walk in first. Naruto was surprised when Sakura caught sight of them. There was a ghost of a smile on her face and she perked up when she saw the shock of black hair beside him. Naruto had never gotten that look from her before and decided he liked it when Sakura was in love. "Hey assface, how goes it?" Shisui asked, an easy smile on his face.

"Eh," Sakura shrugged. "Better now that I get to see your shit face," the edges of her lips twitched, as if she wanted to smile. Naruto had never seen her in such high spirits. "So, what do you want?"

"Surprise me," Shisui grinned at her. She nodded, turning to make him a drink. She set a hot cup in front of him and Naruto thought it smelled good.

"Same thing, Whiskers?" she asked. He nodded. She often made the concoction for him and he knew exactly what it was. She made him the same thing. He took a grateful sip. She mixed hot chocolate with coffee and added copious amounts of caramel and mocha. It was a sugary explosion, but he didn't mind it and he saw that Shisui didn't either. "Did you guys come here for anything besides free coffee?" she asked, brow raised.

"We just thought you'd like to see your two best men," Shisui smiled. "I'll come to pick you up later, though," he pressed his hand over hers. She only nodded. "We'll be seeing you," he smiled at her, pulling his hand away. She caught him and, in full view of Naruto, pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek. He smiled warmly at her. Naruto was speechless and his face was completely red. Sakura just smiled and turned away. She had work to do and she didn't want to be out late.

"Come on, dickface," Shisui said, turning to the door. Naruto followed him, still struck by speechlessness.

"How the fuck did you get her to do _that?!_ " he asked incredulously.

"That's the first time she did that," Shisui laughed. "I didn't expect that, but I liked it." Naruto only shook his head.

"You are the luckiest piece of shit I have ever known. She would have smacked anyone else before doing something like that," he lamented, staring up at the stormy sky. "Jesus Christ it's weird to see her acting like a normal human being."

"I get the same feeling," Shisui laughed. "Whatever, though, having her affection is like having the sun shining on me all the time."

"I know, I get the same feeling when she calls me 'whiskers.'"

"It's better than 'dickbag.'" Shisui laughed. Naruto laughed as well.

"She's still calling you that?!"

"She favors it more than my name," Shisui sighed. "Whatever, it's kind of cute. She's odd, that's for sure, but if you know how to deal with her she's cute and adorable." Naruto nodded, agreeing.

"Shit, you know what I forgot?" Naruto was running down the street now. "Hinata got off early today and asked me to come over!" he was running as quickly as he could. It wasn't often he got to spend time completely alone with her. "See you later Shisui!"

"See you, Naruto," he called back. He settled in his car and decided to head for home. He had some homework to do and he would be done by the time Sakura was out.

* * *

Sasuke sighed for the eleventh time in the past ten minutes. He couldn't seem to concentrate on this book. He looked over at Sakura, who was scribbling away in a notebook, another open with notes on the books she was using.

"What?" she asked, looking over at him.

"I can't concentrate on this," Sasuke said, frustrated. These books were so boring. He liked action and thriller, not these stupid boring books with all the dialogue and people doing nothing. Sakura shrugged.

"I know it sucks, but you've gotta try. Try skipping the really boring parts," she laughed. "Think about it, what do all these books have in common?"

"They have a lot of fucking dialogue and the people do nothing," he said, his words echoing his thoughts. Sakura couldn't help the gentle laugh. Sasuke looked at her, surprised, but got over it pretty quick. He was too frustrated to be surprised with her for long.

"Then use that in your comparisons," Sakura said, shrugging. "If there's a lot of dialogue, it means there's a lot of exposition and backstory." Sasuke nodded. He had been reading about the past of one of the characters for the past ten minutes. He understood it now. These books were more about the story than crazy shit happening all the time. It was still boring as hell. "Write it down in your notebook and begin writing specific examples from each book and how the exposition helps you understand the characters. You can make an entire page about that, honestly." Sasuke nodded, pulling his notebook towards him. Once he began writing, he couldn't stop. He kept thinking of more and more things from the two books he knew something about. He'd have to add more with the third and so left a big space at the bottom. Sakura looked over. "Good."

Sakura had to get up and leave after the hour was over, but she nodded at him and told him he was doing well before she left for her next class. Sasuke sighed. As long as she thought he was doing well, he was okay with it. With all these notes, he knew he was going to write more than three pages and hoped it would do well for him in the grading aspect. He struggled to think of something else he could connect between the first two books and find in the third, but without Sakura, he came up short.

He left, then. Without Sakura it was difficult to concentrate. She talked him through it and helped him realize just what he had to do. He knew there was more, but the people around him were starting to make him antsy. He could work on this in his dorm room he shared with Naruto. It would do better for his concentration, at least.

"Hey, there, fuckface," Shisui greeted her as she rounded the corner. Sakura couldn't help the smile on her face and she touched his arm briefly. "You know," he looked down at her clothes, some of his again, "You should just start keeping some clothes at my place instead of having to wear my oversized clothing."

"I suppose that would make sense, huh?" she said, shrugging. "I didn't think I would be sleeping at your place every night, so I didn't really think to bring anything. I should have thought better, huh?" she sighed. She wasn't very good with these things and really didn't mind wearing his sweaters all the time.

"Well, I keep letting you wear my clothes. Part of it is because you look so damn adorable."

"Is the other part because I don't have thick clothing like this?" she sighed. She didn't have anything of much use. He laughed.

"Yep. That's okay, though. Maybe I'll ask my aunt to help me with looking for a few sweaters for you over the holiday," he smiled.

"Oh, God no," she said immediately. "I don't need any charity, dickbag."

"It isn't charity," he said easily, smiling at her sass, "It's me giving my girlfriend something for Christmas, silly." Sakura flushed and nodded.

"I guess you win," she pouted. "Not like I could have stopped you anyways."

"Nope." He grinned and brushed his fingertips down her arm, grasping her hand. To his pleasure, she didn't pull away for a few minutes. She was still shy about affection in public, but he could get away with holding her hand for a couple minutes or sneaking a kiss every now and then if there weren't a lot of people around. It made his chest warm when he did get away with it.

"I'll see you later," she smiled at him outside her classroom. He returned her smile and leaned down to kiss her cheek quickly before letting her hand go.

He met her at the end of her last class and followed her up to her dorm. He sat on her bed, working on his final project for the graphics class they shared and her working on her English project. "Did you finish this already?" he asked. He hadn't even gotten past the sketch yet. He hated final projects. He could never quite get it.

"Oh yeah. Want to see?" she opened the file and showed him. She had just been playing music on her computer while scribbling in her notebook. He looked at her design and sighed. It was good.

"What's with you and chickens anyways?" he sighed. She had made a logo for an imaginary company that was named Chickencorp. Her logo consisted of a large multicolored chicken surrounded by smaller ones.

"I like them," she shrugged. "I'm terrible with things like this. I thought it might get a laugh out of the teacher, too." Shisui laughed.

"I think it should," he said, amused. She nodded. She closed the file and went back to scribbling in her notebook. To him it looked quite illegible, but she seemed to be reading it alright. However, she had been reading her own writing for years.

"Why do you even go to class anymore if you've finished the final project?" he asked, confused. She had no need to be there if she had finished it and she could just email it to the teacher to let him know. Sakura shrugged.

"You're there. I like it when you're there," she said loftily. He smiled. He scooted himself to the edge of the bed and laid his hand on her arm, waiting patiently for her to look at him. "What?" she asked when she finally turned to look at him. She had had to finish the sentence she'd been working on. He didn't answer her, just kissed her softly on the mouth, his hand on her cheek. He felt her flush beneath his fingertips and couldn't help the smile that graced his lips. "Thanks?" she said when he pulled away.

"You're welcome," he grinned. He sat back on her bed and went back to his sketchbook. She returned to her notebook. They sat there until the sun was far gone and darkness had enveloped the world. He supposed she was too engrossed with the end of semester work to go look at the sunset. She'd been doing it less and less over the past few days.

"So," Sakura was putting her notebook in her bag.

"So, what?" Shisui asked, doing the same.

"We should go back to your place and get in the shower," she said slyly. He was up in a minute, watching her get some jeans and a tank top from her closet. He was extremely excited now. He pulled her out the door and into his car. She was laughing the entire way. Apparently she should ask him to get in the shower more often. He moved at a supersonic speed when she offered sex.

The world was in a whirlwind as she couldn't quite understand how she was in the shower and pressed against the wall and already wet not even five minutes later. She simply answered his hungry kisses, clutching him as he lifted her.

"Hope you don't expect this to be gentle," he whispered slyly, his fingers clutching her thighs rather tightly. "We're in the shower, that doesn't apply here," he winked at her.

"I didn't think it would," she answered flatly, pulling him by the neck to kiss her again. She gasped into his mouth when two of his fingers were pushed into her opening. He didn't move his fingers for a long moment, too intent on teasing her a bit and she whined into his mouth, pushing against his fingers. Instead of moving them, he pressed his thumb harshly against her clit and she jumped in his arms, a whine ripping from her throat.

"I like seeing you bothered," he whispered against her lips and finally began moving his fingers. He thrust them harshly into her and her hands were on his arms, gripping tightly, as she moaned. He kept going at it, watching her come undone in his arms. He pressed his mouth harshly against hers and she met him full force, her moans swallowed in his throat.

He replaced his fingers with his dick, thrusting harshly into her. Her head fell to his shoulder and she bit into his skin. The pain, added to the pleasure, was enough to make him come undone, but he steeled himself and continued thrusting into her. He held her hips tightly in an almost bruising grip, but her nails were digging into his back, sure to draw blood.

He had to pull out of her and finish. He let her down carefully and she stood, sure of herself.

"Damn, I didn't think that would happen," she laughed, picking up the soap.

"I haven't had the glorious chance to feel your body since Thanksgiving, sweetheart, I'm sorry," he grinned at her, grabbing the shampoo. He washed her hair for her and did his own, her doing the same with the soap. They were relaxing in bed a short while later. "Are you tired tonight?" he asked his arm around her waist and her body pressed to his side. He certainly felt sated now. He was tired, even if she wasn't.

"I am," she laughed. "I needed a little stress relief," she sighed happily.

"Well, you can use me for stress relief whenever you want," he said happily, staring at the ceiling. She smiling and pressed her body to his briefly before relaxing. He stroked his fingers down her back until he found she was asleep. Good. She was usually awake long after he went to sleep and woke before he did. He didn't like that she wasn't getting a lot of sleep. He closed his eyes, intent on getting his own sleep. He was happy and peaceful with her beside him. He thought this was going well. There was definitely plenty of sex and she didn't seem so peeved at his presence anymore. Yep, definitely going well. If he could get through winter break without her running for the hills, he felt she would be much better when dealing her anxiety. He certainly hoped her sex drive wouldn't deplete in any way. He fell asleep with a large smile on his face that night.


	5. Chapter 5

**I DID NOT SPELLCHECK THIS BECAUSE IT 25,000 WORDS LONG JESUS FUCK.**

 **HAVE FUN READING THIS FOR THREE HOURS YA HOOLIGANS.**

* * *

"Why do I have to go?" she whined as she stood near the door, watching him fill a duffle bag with some of her clothes. She hadn't packed at all, had put it off because of the intensity of her aversion to this trip, and so he was doing it for her. He only shook his head and threw some more things into the bag.

"You said you would, Sakura. I can't believe you haven't packed anything!" He was slightly annoyed with her and her procrastination, but he was just taking deep breaths and trying to calm himself. She couldn't help the way she was. She was probably feeling extremely anxious and that's why she put it off. He had to remind himself it would be okay.

"I'm sorry," she finally sighed, falling into her desk chair. She leaned her head in her hands and stared at the floor, sighing deeply. She hadn't slept the last three nights, her mind erupting with terrible thoughts and bad scenarios. She didn't want to meet his family and didn't want to have to spend time with them with no way to escape. She was terrified and didn't have a healthy way to deal with her anxiety.

"Sakura," he zipped the bag and took a cursory glance around the room, trying to make sure he didn't miss anything. "I promised that nothing bad will happen to you." He crossed the small room to kneel in front of her and place his hands on hers. She took a long moment to look up at him. He gave her a wide grin when she did.

"You can promise all you want," she sighed, "that doesn't help my anxiety." He sighed and looked at the floor, trying to come up with something that would help her tell him when she was scared. He knew she didn't like people and wouldn't talk to them. He could do enough talking for both of them, so that wasn't a problem and she knew it. Perhaps she was scared he wouldn't realize when she was getting too anxious and had to get away?

"Is there something that you can do to let me know you're getting upset?" he asked. He didn't like that they were having this conversation now. They could have had this conversation days prior, but he hadn't thought to. He was regretting not asking her sooner.

"I don't know," she said quietly.

"Well, come on," he stood and shouldered the duffel bag, holding his hand out to her. She stared up at him, her eyes not guarded for once. He could plainly see how scared and against this she was. "You can think about it on the way. We won't be seeing my family tonight, either. I have a place to go." He could see her calming slightly. She reached up slowly and finally took his hand. He pulled her up fluidly.

"I need a coat," she said softly, looking around the room blindly. She seemed rather dazed. Shisui only shook his head and pulled a heavy sweatshirt from the end of the bed. It was one of his, of course. She didn't have her own. He helped her into it and waited for her to zip it up herself. She seemed to hesitate on walking out the door, but followed him anyways. She was taking slow steps, obviously wanting to run back to her room, where it was safe.

"Deep breaths, Sakura," he said softly, wrapping an arm around her waist and guiding her to move faster. He managed to get her into the car and tossed the bag into the back seat. It was going to be a long three hour drive. When she was like this, she wasn't much to talk. She wasn't much for music either, but he was hoping she would just deal with it at this point.

He started driving, and it wasn't long before she was reaching across the middle console for his hand. He gave it to her easily. She held his hand tightly, almost too tightly, but she wasn't freaking out and that's all he was concerned about. At least they were getting to the highway and she would probably fall asleep at that point. He was hoping, anyways.

"Have you thought of anything yet?" he finally asked. He couldn't stand how quiet it was in the car, but she had made no move to turn on the radio and he couldn't with how tightly she was holding his hand. He didn't think he could get away without a death glare.

"Not really," she muttered. She was far too socially inept to pitch anything. She didn't know what to say or how to say it, honestly. She couldn't even think of anything she thought was good enough! She hoped he would come up with something and stop her from feeling like this. He sighed, obviously prepared to do just that.

"Just hold my hand. I'm sure a nervous tic of some sort will come out and I'll feel it," he sighed. He thought it might work and hoped it would. He couldn't really think of anything else that would work. Any codeword would probably tip his family off, not to mention Naruto. Sakura was trying her hardest to make him think she was doing better and that there was nothing to worry about.

"I guess that'll work," she said quietly.

"Alright, why don't you try and sleep?" he asked. She looked really tired. She sighed and nodded, rearranging herself into a tiny little ball. She finally let his hand go and he brushed his fingertips down her back for a quick moment. He caught the small smile that passed her lips and couldn't help but to smile himself.

He waited until she was obviously asleep and then reached to finally turn on the radio. He kept it low in an attempt to keep her asleep, but it was still some kind of noise. He hated doing this drive and knew he was going to have to see his family tonight at some point, even if he left Sakura back at the house his parents had left him. Perhaps she would feel better after her nap and he would be slightly more successful in dragging her out.

She didn't wake, even when he pulled into the driveway. He had to reach over and nudge her gently for her to wake. She picked herself up, looking around blearily, and yawned widely. "We're here," he said easily, gesturing to his house. She nodded, stretching her arms above her head. She didn't want to get out of the warm car, but she knew he would warm her up when they got inside.

She sighed and got out of the car, waiting for him to do the same. He got out and grabbed the duffle bag from the back of the car before leading her to the door. It took him a moment to open it, knowing full well that she was probably freezing. She wasn't too good on keeping herself warm. She just waited patiently, shuffling through the doorway when he stepped to the side. He followed her in and sighed, dropping the bag next to him. It was dark and quiet. He got the familiar sense of sadness that he always got when he got home. His parents weren't here to come and say hello, ask him how his day was, and ask him how school was going. They weren't waiting in the kitchen, his mother with a glass of wine and his father with a beer. They weren't coming back and it always caught him up in a long minute of sadness when he came back to the perpetually empty house.

"Hey," he heard Sakura's 'I'm concerned' sweet voice and he looked down at her. She knew he was sad and could see it plainly in his eyes. "Are you alright?" she asked, tugging on his arm. She didn't quite know how to ask or how to comfort him, but she was trying and that was all that mattered. She knew his parents had died, from a car crash he'd told her, but she didn't understand that he was sad they weren't in the house.

"I'll be okay, sweetheart," he smiled, but it seemed fake to her.

"You sound like me," there was a slight pout in her voice.

"Alright, alright," he managed a real smile this time. "It just catches me off guard every time I come home, okay? It makes me sad that my parents aren't here to say hi when I come home. I miss talking to them." Sakura wrapped her arms around him in a hug, not having words to comfort him. He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her as well, holding her tightly to his body. He held her for a long moment before sighing. "Come on, let's get to the bedroom." She nodded.

He led her up the stairs and to the master bedroom. He had spent a couple years with it boarded up, his parent's presence never leaving it, but he had stopped that. He had been holding onto a memory and having a shrine to the ones lost in his home wasn't helping. Life moves forward. At least he had Sakura with him. He didn't like having the big room to himself; it definitely needed a significant other in it with him.

"Wow," she said blankly as she looked around the room.

"I know. A lot nicer than my apartment near the campus, right?" he grinned. "The bed's softer too. You should try it." Without waiting for her answer, he grabbed her by the waist and threw her onto the bed, earning him giggles. She struggled to sit up and watched as he crossed to lean over her, planting a kiss on her mouth. The bed was huge and she looked so very tiny in it. It just made her seem all the cuter.

"So what now?" she asked, flopping back down onto the bed. He moved to lean over her again, watching her face. She was smiling, her hands resting lightly on his shoulders, and he was quite glad she didn't seem anxious now. It was a welcome change for the day.

"Well, it's only three. I definitely have to go and see my aunt and uncle tonight, but you don't have to come if you don't want to. I just have to let them know I didn't die on my way here," he lightly joked, slowly resting his weight on her. She didn't seem to mind or notice the change. "Then, depending on when I get home, we can watch a movie downstairs, I'll make you dinner, then you can find out how great it is to have sex in this bed," he winked. She flushed and shook her head, rolling her eyes.

"Don't make me jealous," she sighed. "That'll make me think you've had sex with other girls on this bed."

"Oh, hush," he grinned, pressing a kiss to her mouth again. "If it makes you feel any better, I haven't had sex with anyone on _this_ bed, but there's a smaller one just as comfortable in another room that I _have_ had sex on." Sakura just rolled her eyes. "There are plenty of other places I haven't had sex yet in this house, so I'll have to make sure to use that to my advantage while I have you here."

"Oh, yeah, the best idea is to try and have as much sex as possible while we're on break, huh?" she rolled her eyes. Shisui just grinned.

"I try to have as much sex as possible in general." Sakura shot him a sharp look. "Jesus, you're jealous! You know I mean with you!" he laughed and kissed her again. She wasn't rejecting his kisses, so he knew she wasn't really angry. He collapsed next to her and pulled her snug against his body, squeezing her tightly for a few moments. "I have to get going soon."

"Can't you take a nap with me first?" she asked, voice small. Now that he was next to her—the first time in days, mind you, she was finally feeling the exhaustion from the last few restless nights. She probably wouldn't wake when he got up to leave, but she didn't like the thought of not having him next to her while she fell asleep.

"Sure," he smiled. He couldn't say no to her and she full well knew it. He pulled himself up and waited for her to get underneath the blankets first before he slid under and wrapped his arms around her. She pressed her body against his, seeking his warmth, and let out a satisfied sigh when it began seeping into her. He'd have to remember to turn the heat on before he left or she would freeze blankets or not.

She was asleep before him, but he hadn't really been tired and wasn't planning on sleeping. He simply knew she looked tired and didn't know how else he would get her to sleep. Having her ask to curl up with him was better than trying to hold her down. He brushed his fingers through her hair methodically and held her tightly, just as she liked. He had figured out that it put her to sleep within a half an hour.

He looked over at the clock and sighed, knowing he had to leave her. He didn't like leaving her in bed alone. He always thought he should be right there next to her all the time, especially in a bed. He sighed again and pressed a kiss to the top of her head before carefully maneuvering away from her and sliding out of bed. They were going to have to go shopping tomorrow because Sakura didn't have a thing to wear to a nice dinner. He had never expected her to with how she shut herself up inside all the time.

He passed one last glance over her sleeping form from the doorway before trudging down the stairs. He made sure to turn the heater on before he grabbed his coat and his keys. Mikoto was nice enough to come here and dust every weekend, but he hardly thought she would remember to turn the heat on for him before his arrival home. It didn't bother him much. He slid into his car and drove away. He hoped Sakura wouldn't be too angry waking alone and made sure he had his cell phone on him before he drove too far. She would definitely have his head if he forgot it and made her unnecessarily worried. He had forgotten it one night when he went out with Itachi to a bar and regretted it ever since.

"Shisui! We were wondering when you were going to get here!" Mikoto greeted him before he even managed to walk in the door. She ensnared him in a big hug and he could do nothing but hug back and hope she would let go soon so he could regain circulation and breathing capabilities. "The boys got back awhile ago, I thought you wouldn't be too far behind," she sounded pretty let down and he didn't know why. He wasn't known to be right behind her sons anyways.

"I got held up. My wonderful girlfriend was dragging her feet," he made a face and grinned at his aunt.

"Oh?" now she was interested. Shisui had never had a girlfriend before, not one that he brought home to meet the family anyways. "Where is this girlfriend of yours?"

"Sleeping. I wasn't going to bring her. She's angrier than Itachi is if you wake him before noon." Itachi, who was sitting on a couch in the living room in plain sight of the doorway, raised his glass in agreement. Shisui grinned, seeing his cousin. Itachi wasn't one for many words, but he was certainly hilarious without them.

"I've met her, mother," his cousin chimed in now. "If Shisui says she is asleep, it is best to leave it that way."

"I agree," Sasuke had only heard part of what Itachi said, but knew it must be about Sakura. There weren't many other girls the three of them could be talking about. "She was late for our English class once and I went to get her. I'm pretty sure there's an imprint of my face on her dorm door. To be fair I didn't know she handed the assignment in already," Sasuke grumbled the last part. She had given no indication that she had and on the set day they were supposed to, he thought he was being a good friend by going to get her.

"Sakura told me about that," Shisui laughed, shaking his head at the memory. "She was pretty peeved that you threw your bag at her."

"It was the only way to get her to wake up!" Sasuke shot back, rubbing his temples. "Seriously, Shisui, you're probably the only person I know that can deal with that tyrant for more than an hour." He had been spending a lot of time with Sakura, especially because she was helping him with the final, but she was far more nihilistic and sarcastic than he was and it had grated on his nerves. Along with the constant anxiety that came out in the form of anger, he couldn't stand to be around her much.

"I thought she was quite entertaining myself," Itachi said, amusement in his eyes. Most people annoyed the hell out of Sasuke, his best friend included, so Itachi couldn't care for his words too much. There was always something annoying about a person to his little brother.

"That's because you're more sarcastic and angry about life than she even is!" Sasuke shot back. Itachi just shook his head and returned his attention to the TV. His little brother was certainly entertaining when he was riled up, but Itachi had better things to do. One of those things included drinking his vodka and another was watching the news. Sasuke just sat down next to him with an audible huff, but Itachi paid little heed to him.

"Sakura's her name?" Mikoto asked, latching onto the one little tidbit of information about the girl she didn't quite know yet. Sasuke had been complaining about a girl all afternoon and, from Itachi and Shisui, she guessed it was the same person.

"Yes, yes, Aunt Mikoto, her name's Sakura," Shisui sighed. Itachi held out a glass for him, knowing he'd need it. Shisui took it gratefully. Mikoto was about to drill him endlessly until he could slip away and he had a niggling feeling that she didn't know anything about Sakura, like Itachi and Sasuke hadn't when Naruto had first introduced them to her.

"Why haven't you told us anything about her?" Mikoto asked, smiling as she sat down in the armchair nearest the door. Shisui continued to stand, hoping he would be able to end this sooner rather than later. He still had to go to the store and find something to cook for him and Sakura tonight.

"You're not exactly my mom," he sighed. Her face fell slightly. "Aright, alright, you know I didn't mean it like that. I didn't think I'd even be able to get her to come during the break. I didn't want to make you excited if she wasn't coming."

"Why wouldn't she want to come?"

"Because her personality is colder than the ninth circle of hell," Sasuke said glumly, not even looking away from the television. Mikoto looked at her son in disbelief for a moment before finding words to say.

"Excuse me, Sasuke, I thought I raised you better than to say something such as that," she said scathingly, glaring at him. Itachi shook his head, looking rather amused.

"It's true, mother," Itachi said. "She has gotten better as of late, though."

"Doesn't she still call Shisui 'dickbag?'" Sasuke asked, smirking.

"What?" Mikoto swung her gaze around to Shisui. Shisui looked rather sheepish and took another sip of his drink. He really needed some alcohol to deal with this right now. He knew her actions wouldn't go down well with Mikoto, but the woman knew nothing of her and he knew she was judging her right now, just by the look in her eyes.

"She's different, okay?" Shisui sighed, holding his hands up in defeat. "I call her things just as bad and she spits back at me."

"They are certainly a sight to watch," Itachi commented.

"I don't want you to talk right now," Mikoto said, holding up a hand to her eldest son. "I am too busy talking to your crazy ass cousin. Why would you date and continue to date a girl that is 'colder than the ninth circle of hell,' and calls you dickbag?" she put her hands on her hips, setting a rather disappointed look on her nephew. Shisui only shook his head.

"She's fucking hilarious? Having her attention makes me feel like the most special person on the earth because she hates me less than everything else? I get that nice, warm glowy feeling when she's a sweetheart, knowing she only shows that side to me? Take your pick, Aunt Mikoto," he sighed, slumping back into his seat and taking another sip of his drink.

"How do you know she likes you back if she does nothing but insult you and your friends?"

"To be fair, mother, she does not really hang around us," Itachi said, raising a brow to his mother, daring her to tell him to be quiet again. "She helped Sasuke with his final English project, but I am sure that is the extent of her time around us."

"She did go to dinner once with all of us and Naruto, but she left pretty quickly."

"She has social anxiety, for the love of fuck," Shisui said. He shook his head. "I scared her off. It was my fault. I caused her sensory overload and then I basically stalked her for a couple months before she agreed to date me. That was actually pretty simple, actually. I was surprised with how simple it was," he shrugged. "The only reason I managed to get her to even come here for break was because I know Naruto is going to be here pretty much every second."

"Naruto knows her?" this was news to Mikoto. If she knew Naruto, she couldn't be as bad as Sasuke made her out to be.

"He's known her for fourteen years or something?" Sasuke shrugged. "He said they met in preschool, but I'm pretty sure the idiot was lying. He usually has a long ass story about how he met someone, but he kept it unnaturally short. I thought it was odd."

"Anything to add, Shisui?"

"Nothing I wouldn't be murdered over," he said, looking away from his family. "She's had a tough life, let's just leave it at that." There must have been something in his voice, a note of warning or something, because none of them prodded him for information. They were silent for a long moment. "Aunt Mikoto," Shisui sighed, "Sakura has nothing to wear for dinner tomorrow. Do you want to take her shopping and attempt some bonding time?"

"If she has social anxiety, she won't want to be alone with me," Mikoto's anger and skepticism over the matter was lost after the warning she'd heard.

"I'll go too. I don't know anything about women's clothes and Sakura isn't too keen on places she doesn't know. She'll try and back out the moment she gets there if one of us doesn't know what to do. It's better to get her acclimated to you guys one at a time anyways and she's already met those two," he gestured to his cousins with a jerk of his head. "She just sasses the fuck out of them at this point.

"Oh? Are there different things she does?"

"If she's comfortable she calls me by name and calls Naruto 'Whiskers.' If she's feeling particularly anxious, she gets a whole lot more sassy and no one is safe from it," he laughed. "If she doesn't know you very well, there's no end to the fucking sass, but once she knows you a little better you might get some of her sweetness."

"She helped me with my English final," Sasuke shrugged. "I was pretty stunned by it. She really doesn't know how to talk to anyone, though. Don't be offended, mother, if she seems a little harsh."

"She knows she's harsh," Shisui said quietly, looking away from his family again. "She doesn't really know how to turn it off." He loved her, he knew he did, and the things she knew about herself hurt him just as much as they hurt her. He supposed it was good that she knew such things about herself, but he couldn't help but feel like he should shield her from it. It wouldn't do any good, but it would do something for her self esteem. She seemed to always beat down on herself because of how she was and she didn't know how to change it, but he didn't know how to help her either.

"Alright, when do you want me over? I have to cook dinner as well and you know I like to have it on the table by seven."

"How long will it take you to cook?"

"About three hours or so if I don't have help," she turned her sharp eyes to her sons, but they pretended not to notice. "I'll have to be back by three."

"How about noon then? I'll try and get Naruto over sooner and I'll help you in the kitchen." Shisui hadn't just learned to cook on his own; Mikoto had taught him through the years. He had loved cooking from a young age and always insisted on helping his aunt, confused by his cousins who did not. It was soothing to him.

"That would be nice," Mikoto smiled.

"Alright," Shisui looked at the clock. "I've gotta get going. There's no food at home and I'm hungry. I've got to stop by the store. Do you need anything for tomorrow?" he asked his aunt.

"No," Mikoto smiled.

"I'll be off then," he hopped up off the couch. "Text me if you need anything." She nodded, the smile still on her lips. Shisui left the house quickly, dialing as he did. He was calling Sakura and didn't know if she was awake or not. It would be better to just call her and ask her, no matter if she was to sleepy to really talk or not.

"The fuck you want, dickbag?" was her hello. At this point he was used to it.

"Do you need anything while I'm at the store?"

"A lot of things, actually. Got a pen and paper?"

"Why don't you just text it to me?" he was never going to remember if she told him over the phone and he didn't have a pen and paper anywhere near him.

"Fine, fine. You annoy me."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll see you soon, okay?" She could hear the smile in his voice and couldn't help but smile herself. "What are you doing right now?" he was in his car now, turning it on, and he just wanted to know if she was okay.

"I found the remote for the tv," she laughed, "I'm being a bum."

"That's fine," he grinned at her laugh. "I'm just glad you aren't lying in bed staring at the wall." She was prone to do that when she wasn't in her dorm. "I thought you would sleep longer."

"You weren't next to me." He could hear the pout in her voice.

"Alright, hold tight, I'll be next to you soon," he said, smiling. He had never hoped to have a conversation like this a few months ago and was quite glad they got to this point now. He was half expecting sass still, but she was pleasantly surprising him.

"Alright, bye," she hung up. She wasn't one to do the 'you hang up first' bit, and he was glad for that. He had always thought that was slightly annoying, though he put up with it most of the time. He wasn't very good at saying no to whomever he was obsessed with. His obsession with Sakura, however, had lasted far longer than he expected. He had brought her home to meet the family, for fuck's sake! He had never done that before.

He shook his head and focused on what he was doing. He drove almost halfway to the store before he heard his phone buzz a few times. Sakura really did need a few things from the store. He only shook his head and continued on his way. He'd look after he got out of his car. The store was close to his house, at least, and it wouldn't take him long to get home after shopping.

"Jesus Christ, where does she expect me to find all this?" Shisui muttered as he looked at his phone. Yes, he did know where to find eggs, and graham crackers, but where the fuck was flower and cocoa powder? Hell, what was she even planning on making? He sighed; he'd have to ask someone in the store where to find most of this stuff. He would spend an hour just trying to find the right aisle and another hour trying to locate the damn things on a shelf.

He got a cart and went about getting the things for dinner first. He supposed some chicken would do her well and went with that. She always liked pasta, so he grabbed some he could toss sauce on and call a side. After he got everything he needed for dinner, he went looking for her list, grabbing everything he knew where to find first. He didn't want to have to ask anyone until he was ready to get the things he needed.

Once the cashier led him to the baking aisle, everything was a lot easier to find, but he still wondered why she needed all this random ass shit. He had never seen her show an interest in cooking or baking, so he wondered why she was showing an interest now. He only shook his head and made sure he had everything on her list before going to the checkout. He knew full well that she would make him take his sorry ass back here just to get the one thing he missed on the list.

Sakura was curled up in a corner of the couch, her head on the arm, when he got home. She only moved her eyes to look at him at first before sitting up and reaching her arms out to him. He thought it was quite adorable when she did this. She had little mannerisms that made him think of a little girl and he couldn't help but think it cute.

"Hey," he smiled as he went to her, wrapping his arms around her. She seemed rather happy right now and he was more than glad. "So, why do you need all that random crap?" he asked after she finally let him go.

"You don't expect me to go to someone else's house for dinner without something in return, right?" she asked, staring at him like he was dumb. He was dumbfounded for a moment before bursting out laughing, shaking his head.

"I never thought you would think of something like that. You don't need to bring anything, you know." Sakura only shrugged. He wasn't going to make a difference, especially because he had already bought the things for her. "What are you making anyways?"

"You couldn't guess?" she asked, tilting her head at him. "You got pie tins right? How could you not guess from that?" He couldn't help but laugh again.

"I thought you'd understand by now that I'm not good with putting two and two together," he grinned. Sakura just smiled at him and planted a kiss on his cheek. He stopped her from moving away and kissed her mouth. She gripped his shirt and held him to her, kissing him back harshly. She was quite harsh when she kissed, though he found she could be gentle if she was in the mood. She was obviously not in the mood now. "You know," he said when she finally let him go, "I'm starting to think you want me to rip your clothes off when you kiss me like that." She scoffed.

"What's the problem with the way I kiss?" she narrowed his eyes at him.

"Nothing," he laughed, "You just like to get all up in my business," he shook his head at her. "You'd think that means you want something else, you know."

"You could say I do," she answered blankly. He was just as surprised as he always was when she said something of that nature but, before he could do anything about it, she was off the couch and poking through the bags he'd brought home.

"Come back here!" he called, standing.

"Nope. I'm making a pie and you're making dinner," she said, still poking through the bags. He just shook his head and crouched next to her, finding the things he wanted. Sakura stood and looked around the kitchen, wondering where the heck anything was.

"What are you looking for? My mom had a lot of baking stuff and I haven't thrown it out. It's around here somewhere," Shisui shrugged, looking around the kitchen. He knew there was a mixer somewhere and a few other things she could use for this. He just didn't know where to find it. Sakura sighed, shooting him a glare, and began rooting through cupboards.

"Here's something," she sighed, pulling out a mixer a few minutes and many cupboards later. She looked up at Shisui and he just smiled and picked it up for her, putting it on the counter. She went back to searching, hoping there was a food processor around his kitchen. It took her a good twenty minutes of looking through even more cupboards, but she finally located one. It was high over her head, however. "Shisui, how do you expect me to do anything when you put everything so high up?"

"I apologize. I didn't really expect a short female in my life so suddenly. I haven't had time to change everything," he laughed. He reached over her head and pulled the thing down, planting it into her hands. He pressed a kiss to the side of her head, though he knew she was still grumpy. "Don't worry, I'm here for you to use to grab this stuff."

"You better be," she mumbled before moving away from him to plug the processor into the wall. He watched her for a moment, smiling. She was certainly grouchy, but it was calming down some lately. He grabbed her waist and pulled her in for a quick hug. She huffed and pushed back from him. "Stop distracting me, dickbag."

"Alright, alright," he laughed. "Go and make your pie." She huffed again and turned back to what she was doing. He ignored the sound of the food processor as he cut and seasoned the chicken for the oven. "Is three-fifty okay for you?" he asked, guessing the crust wouldn't take as long as the chicken if she wanted to do that first.

"Yeah. It'll only take about ten minutes to cook," she said. He watched her for a moment as she spread the graham cracker and butter mix she made through the pan. She certainly seemed to know what she was doing and he wondered how he hadn't seen this before.

"Where did you learn to bake?" he asked. She just shrugged.

"I've always known, I guess," she said. "It's been a way of escape for me through the years."

"Why don't you bake more around me?"

"I don't need it as much," she shrugged again and tossed the pie pan into the oven. "If you want me to bake, all you have to do is ask." She pulled the mixer forwards now and began adding ingredients to that. He was distracted watching her for a moment before shaking his head and getting back to what he was doing. He waited until she got her tin out to put the chicken in.

"What are you doing?" he asked, creeping up behind her and wrapping his arms tight around her waist, watching over her shoulder. He didn't know what was in the mixer, but it looked a lot like whipped cream.

"Making the pie filling, what do you think I'm doing?" she shot back. She grabbed something and added to the bowl. He thought it fascinating to watch her and did so from his position. She didn't seem to mind him behind her and didn't try and push him away as she reached for the things she needed. He kissed the side of her head before going to check the pasta on the stovetop and the chicken in the oven.

"Are you almost done?" he asked a few minutes later. The pasta was done, the sauce in it, and he was just waiting a few more minutes on the chicken. Sakura had put the pie crust in the fridge after she took it out of the oven so he had ample space for the hot pans.

"Almost," she said, going to check the tin in the fridge. It was almost cold enough for the filling to go into it. She leaned back on the counter, sighing, as she watched him finish dinner up. She wasn't much of a cook, her specialty based around toast and eggs, but she guessed he wasn't much of a baker due to everything being in random parts of the kitchen.

"Dinner's ready." She nodded and watched him put their meals on plates. She could finish her pie after they ate. "Do you want to eat at the table or the couch?" he asked. She just shrugged. He wanted to laugh. She was always really indecisive. He should have figured she wouldn't choose at this point. "Table," he grinned, nudging her along.

Sakura nodded and sat, watching him place her plate in front of her. He sat next to her and began eating. She had been eating a little quicker than him lately and he was pretty happy about it. It definitely meant she liked his cooking. She was nice enough to wait for him to finish before getting up from the table. She had to finish baking before the filling got too stiff to pour into the crust.

Shisui washed the dishes as she finished up. She finished first and leaned against the counter, watching him. He leaned against the opposite counter and watched her. "What would you like to do now?"

"Sleep," she sighed. She was still so, so tired and she didn't feel very comfortable being in that big bed without him.

"Let's go sleep then." He waited for her to move first and followed her up the stairs. She looked around for her duffle bag and located it near his dresser. She began rifling through it while he just pulled some sweatpants from a drawer and changed into them. He flopped into bed, waiting for her to change. She finally managed to find pajama pants and a tank top, changed, and was next to him a few moments later.

"Are you tired?" she asked, finding a place close to him. No matter how big the bed, she always pressed to his side. It was just one of those mannerisms he thought was adorable.

"Not really, but look," he pulled his laptop out. "I'll be entertained until I am." She nodded slowly, edging closer to nestle her head against his neck. He smiled and drew his fingers down her back. "How long did you sleep anyways?" he asked.

"A couple hours," she said, yawning. "Why?"

"You look very tired," he said truthfully. "I was hoping you would sleep longer, but I'm guessing you figured out I wasn't next to you anymore."

"It got cold," she pouted. She really didn't like the cold, as he'd found. He only chuckled and wrapped his arm tighter around her. She pulled herself up and placed a sleepy, slow kiss on his mouth. He reciprocated her soft kiss, hugging her tightly to his chest. She smiled when his grip lessened and moved to curl her body back around him.

He was reading articles when he finally felt her breathing turn slow. He wanted to move his arm from around her so he could actually do something on his laptop, but knew she would wake up the moment he did. She seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to him changing position. He couldn't just move while she was sleeping. She would wake up and fix him with a glare before he grudgingly moved back to their position. He sighed.

After a little while, he figured it was about high time he should try and sleep as well. He shut the laptop and carefully put it on the floor before turning on his side, hugging Sakura tightly to himself. She woke briefly, enough to smile and return the embrace, but then she was back off to sleep. He couldn't help but smile as well.

Dd

"Who the fuck's at the door?" He woke up to Sakura's grumpy voice. He looked over at the clock and sighed. It was only about eleven, but he should have known his aunt would have shown up early. He supposed it was good in a way. They definitely would have overslept if Mikoto hadn't shown up now.

"Don't worry about it," he said softly, sitting up. She groaned in protest as she tumbled off his chest. "I'll go get it. You go get in the shower, okay? It's through that door," he gestured.

"Fine," she yawned and pulled herself from under the blankets. He saw her off to the bathroom, pulling on a shirt as he did, and then went to answer the door. Mikoto was standing on the other side, smiling. He wondered how in the hell she was smiling right now. He had made her wait outside for a good five minutes and it wasn't exactly warm out.

"Good morning, Shisui," she said as he stepped off to the side and let her into his house. "I take I woke you up?"

"You actually woke Sakura up who, in turn, woke me up in a particularly grumpy way," he grinned. "I sent her off to shower. Are you hungry or want some coffee?" he went to the kitchen, intent on making eggs and toast. He definitely needed some coffee, if only to shove into Sakura's hands to offset some of her grump.

"I'll have some coffee," she stood next to the counter. "I'm sorry I'm early. I should have known you were sleeping in."

"I didn't mean to. I forgot to set an alarm. I tend to sleep until Sakura gets up and she didn't wake up until the doorbell went off," Shisui said, shrugging. The coffee was almost done and the eggs were coming pretty close. At least he could feed Sakura while telling her that she was going shopping with his aunt. "Here," he handed a mug of coffee to Mikoto, "You know where the stuff is." She probably knew this kitchen better than he did. "I'll be back down in a minute," he said, a plate in his hand. Mikoto only nodded as she added milk to her coffee.

Sakura was getting dressed as he walked into their bedroom. She finished pulling the shirt over her head before sitting on the bed and accepting the plate he'd brought up for her. "So I have some news to tell you and I already know you're going to hate it and make up a million different reasons why you can't do it." Sakura stopped eating and narrowed her gaze at him, slowly putting her plate off to the side. When he knew she wasn't going to be happy about something, she knew she was going to try and smack him and she didn't think either of them wanted food on the carpet. "My aunt's here and she's going to take you shopping."

"Shisui," she warned, glaring wholeheartedly at him now. He held up his hands in surrender and grinned at her, trying his hardest to diffuse some of the tension.

"Just listen for a second, okay?" he asked, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her into his side. He would rather have her close to him if she was going to explode. He didn't want to be sporting a black eye tonight at dinner. He would much rather deal with a few bruises on his chest. "I don't know anything about women's clothes and I know you would just look around for half a second before turning around and walking back through the door. Aunt Mikoto's really good at this stuff, so I figured I'd ask her and make it easy on both of us," he explained quickly through her silence.

"Do I have to speak?" she asked sharply.

"Nope. Just nod or shake your head if you don't want to speak. I feel like you don't like frilly things so I'll have her avoid that, okay?" She nodded. If she didn't have to speak to the woman and produce small talk, she felt like it would be okay. She would definitely be uneasy, but she was Shisui's aunt. How bad could she be? "Alright, finish your breakfast and come down when you're ready, okay?"

"Okay." She didn't seem very uneasy and he wondered why. Perhaps she actually trusted his judgment on what would be okay? He didn't know. He just pressed a kiss to the top of her head and walked back downstairs to see his aunt pouring herself another cup of coffee. She usually didn't drink that much coffee, but he couldn't judge. He usually lived off coffee.

"I don't expect her to be very talkative," he informed her, "I told her she doesn't have to. She seemed pretty comfortable with the idea of going with you, which I was surprised about, but I think it's because you're a Shisui approved guardian," he grinned at her.

"I guess that works," Mikoto laughed. Shisui leaned against a counter to eat his own breakfast, now that Sakura was taken care of. "Are you still planning on going with us?"

"Nah. If she starts freaking out, she'll take herself out of the situation. I know she might seem pretty standoffish and harsh, but she doesn't mean to be, okay?"

"You seem to forget that Itachi and Sasuke are my sons and I am perfectly capable of dealing with human ice cubes." Mikoto shook her head at her nephew and continued drinking her coffee. Shisui only grinned and continued eating his food. He heard a slight noise on the stairs and looked to see Sakura, her face a hardened mask and eyes guarded, coming down the stairs. He set down his plate in the sink quickly and waited for her to cross to him. She didn't seem to want to when she finally got to the kitchen and he could see she was clearly nervous.

"Are you ready?" he asked easily, walking to her instead when it was clear she wasn't going to come to him. She nodded, her gaze softening when Mikoto was blocked by his body. She hesitantly leaned forward and he smiled, wrapping his arms around her for a long moment. "You'll be okay," he said softly, close to her ear. "If you need anything, just call me, alright?"

"Okay," her voice was small and just as soft as his was. He pulled back to flash a confident smile at her.

"Naruto's going to pick you up from the mall. He said something about his dad wanting to see you before dinner. He'll bring you back here to get ready before he brings you, though. I'll already be there, helping Aunt Mikoto with dinner, okay?" Sakura nodded. She still hadn't really said anything, but he noticed she had relaxed minimally and he knew it was because he'd mentioned Naruto. It was an escape from having to be in the car with Mikoto for longer than necessary.

"Alright, Shisui, we should get going," Mikoto said cheerfully after checking her watch.

"Okay, I'll see you two later," Shisui smiled at the two of them. Mikoto smiled back and Sakura only nodded her hand on his arm briefly in a goodbye. He watched the two of them walk out the door before stretching and heading up the stairs for his own shower.

Mikoto didn't mind the silence in the car as she drove to the mall, the small girl in the passenger seat staring out the window. Sakura didn't seem to want to talk to her, but that was alright. She was probably trying to keep herself from saying something harsh or mean. Mikoto wracked her mind, thinking of when Itachi had been small and wouldn't say more than two words to her in the car. She tried to think of what she had done way back then to get him to say something.

It had been a good five minutes until she finally stopped trying to think of things. Sakura wasn't Itachi and her silence was different than his. He was naturally a quiet person and Sakura seemed nervous and didn't know what to say either. Armed with this different outlook, it was easier to think of something to say. Mikoto thought that perhaps Sakura needed her to say something a little personal first so she could identify with her.

"You know, I've never been out to shop with a girl before," Mikoto smiled at the road, not wanting to off put the younger woman by looking at her. "I would just go out and find things for the boys. Sometimes they didn't like what I bought them." Sakura was silent for a long minute and Mikoto thought she wouldn't say anything. She got ready to say something else in an attempt to connect with her.

"I don't see why," Sakura finally said quietly, still staring out the window. "From looking at you I can assume you are very good at picking out clothes. I'm sure whatever you had brought home would have looked fine on those two." Sakura had known the older woman had wanted her to say something, but she had had a difficult time voicing her opinion. It had taken that long minute to get her voice to work and it still had come out quiet as anything.

"Maybe they thought it was embarrassing that I still bought their clothes for them. They didn't want to come, though, so I don't see how that was a problem," Mikoto laughed, glad that Sakura had said something. She had just been interested in connecting with the younger woman. It was important to her. Shisui didn't have parents to show his girlfriend off to anymore. She stood in at this point and it was important to him that they get along. Sakura seemed to know that too.

"I know you're wondering where I met Naruto," Sakura said suddenly, still staring out that window. Her voice was harsh and Mikoto reminded herself of Shisui's words. She didn't mean it and she was wonderfully warm to him when they were alone. The woman was obviously getting ready to tell her something that she didn't tell many others, so Mikoto could believe Shisui's words. "I know Shisui isn't planning on letting me get very far away from him for God knows how long and I won't allow him to lie for me to protect my sanity," Sakura explained quickly.

"What do you mean?" Mikoto asked, finally turning her head quickly to look at her. They had parked a few seconds ago, but Sakura hadn't seemed to want to move yet. This was too important to her.

"I know you want to know about me," Sakura shrugged, finally bringing her gaze to her. It was guarded, much like her voice. "Shisui will twist lies around the truth so you don't know everything, but I am going to tell you first." Sakura sighed. "I know you probably remember the foster home scandal a few years ago. I was the oldest of the children and the one that was abused by the foster father. Naruto had been with me in that home until he was adopted, but he never knew. It is why we are so close," Sakura said softly, quickly. "I wish for you to know before you ask and Shisui attempts to cover for me."

"That is something Shisui would do," Mikoto said, just as softly as the other woman. "He cares for those close to him and he wishes to protect them at all costs, that's just how he is." Shisui really was sweet and Sakura was on point with identifying his personality. "By the way, thank you for helping Sasuke on his English essay. He managed to pull away with a B in the class."

"He told me," Sakura shrugged. "I'm glad." Mikoto nodded and then sighed, reaching for the door. Sakura did the same and walked beside her into the mall.

"So where would you like to go?" Mikoto asked.

"I don't know," Sakura shrugged. "I've never been in a mall before. I have never bought any clothes from a store except for salvation army or goodwill." Even then, she didn't get anything good. She mostly just got jeans and tank tops because those were the cheapest clothes available. Mikoto sighed.

"I'll have to take you shopping within the next month or so to get you some new clothes."

"I don't need charity," Sakura spat immediately, stopping their easy gait to give her a hostile glare. "If Shisui put you up to this, I already told him the same," she said for good measure. Sure, she was a poor foster kid that had spent her life in the system and had absolutely nothing except books and old clothes. Her most prized possession was her laptop she had saved for years to get. It was old and slightly decrepit at this point, but it was still her most important possession.

"Sakura, dear," Mikoto said, a soft smile on her face as she reached for her unmoving hand, "Don't you dare think its charity. Shisui hasn't put me up to anything either. It's something I want to do and that's how it's going to be." Mikoto didn't feel sorry for the girl or anything. If anything, it was her mother's instinct telling her she should do something for the girl.

"I'm sorry," the younger woman said quietly, looking away from her. "I didn't mean to sound so…angry."

"It's alright, I understand," Mikoto smiled. "Let's go. We have about an hour before Naruto gets here to pick you up." Sakura only nodded, her silence coming back, and she allowed Mikoto to continue holding her hand and pull her along. She felt like a little child for a moment, but had never felt mothering before, so it was a welcome feeling. "Here," Mikoto led her into a store.

Sakura looked around the store, thinking it a little too pastel for her tastes, but Mikoto seemed to know what she was doing, so she trusted her. She mostly just followed Mikoto through the store while she perused the racks for her. "What size are you by the way?"

"I don't know, a medium maybe?" Sakura asked, shrugging. She didn't know her dress size, had never really needed to know.

"We'll try a couple different sizes. We should try green to go with your hair." Sakura only shrugged. She didn't know what would look good on her and she knew she couldn't pull off too many different colors because of her hair. "It'll go with Christmas too," Mikoto smiled. She had to stop herself for a moment and think. Sakura had probably never had a real Christmas before. Though it was definitely prying, she decided to ask. "Have you ever celebrated?" she asked as she picked out a few different dresses for her to try on.

"There wasn't really a way to when I was younger. This is the first year after I aged out," Sakura shrugged. Mikoto was partially surprised by how young Sakura was. She was eighteen and her nephew was more on the twenty-five range. She wasn't a minor, she really couldn't say anything about it, but she also didn't disapprove. Shisui seemed pretty happy with her. "I wasn't really planning on celebrating either," Sakura added as an afterthought. "Shisui begged me to come back here with him though I wasn't too keen on it." Mikoto could see why. This town held a lot of bad memories for Sakura and she probably wasn't too big on coming back to them.

"Well, it's pretty fun at our house," Mikoto smiled. "There are always a lot of people because we have a big family. Our house is quite big, though, so if you need to find a quiet place I'm sure one of the boys will be happy to show you to one."

"Thank you," Sakura said, sounding pleasantly surprised.

"Here," Mikoto held up her armful of dresses, "Why don't you go try these on? I'll wait outside the dressing room to see, okay?" she smiled. Sakura only nodded, holding out her hands to take the clothing from her. She gladly handed them over and trailed after her to the dressing rooms. Sakura disappeared inside and didn't come out for a few long minutes.

"I don't think this fits," Sakura said as she came out. Mikoto walked to her and checked her over. It was a knee-length light green dress, not very exciting, but it was a little baggy on her.

"What size is this one?"

"A six."

"Disregard any other sixes and go to the fours," Mikoto said, pointing back to the dressing room. Sakura only nodded in response and went back to the dressing room. It took her a few extra minutes than last time, probably because she had to sort through all the dresses. When she came back out, she was wearing a deep emerald knee-length dress. "That one is quite pretty."

"I like that it flares here," Sakura said, indicating her waist. She wasn't one for tight things and went on the side of things that tended to hide her figure. This one had short sleeves as well, which made her happy. Most others were straps or none at all and it showed off way too much cleavage. She didn't want any of that, though she was sure Shisui would love it.

"Well, if you like that one, then we'll get it," Mikoto smiled. Sakura seemed to actually really like it and she wanted her to wear what she was comfortable in. She supposed it was good Sakura seemed to gravitate towards something like this. It wasn't very revealing, but it definitely hugged her and let Mikoto see her figure more clearly than the baggy jeans and sweatshirt did. "I'm guessing you don't have any shoes to go with that, though."

"I have sneakers," Sakura laughed. She seemed surprised at herself for laughing and flushed, looking away from Mikoto. She seemed rather embarrassed that she had laughed, but Mikoto thought it had been quite cute.

"We'll go somewhere else to get some simple heels really quick, okay?" Mikoto smiled. They only had about twenty minutes before Naruto was set to show up, so they had to hurry. "Go get changed again and we can check out okay?" Sakura nodded, walking back to the dressing room. She didn't take long to change, obviously knowing they were on a time strain. It didn't take long to cash out and Mikoto was leading her across the mall again, to a pretty nice shoe store.

Sakura followed her closely, thinking she knew exactly where she was going. "Do you know your shoe size at least?"

She smiled and shook her head. "I'm a six and a half," she said, knowing there was quite a lot of amusement in her voice. Mikoto pulled down a box and gestured to a bench. Sakura took it from her and tried the simple pumps on quickly. They didn't have too much of a heel, which made her happy. She wasn't too good on heels in the first place since she rarely wore them.

"That's good. Let's go. We have to get back to the main entrance in ten minutes." Sakura nodded and followed Mikoto quickly to the cashier. Mikoto handed her the bags after all was said and done, though she kept the receipts. She didn't want Sakura to know how much she'd spent on her, knowing she would feel bad about it and could react harshly. She didn't want any of that to happen.

Naruto was standing by the main entrance when the two women finally managed to get to it. He grinned easily at the two of them and reached with both arms to Sakura. She gave him a hug gladly, pressing her body harshly to his. She was so very glad to see him. They hadn't seen each other much with all the finals and Shisui taking up so much of her time. It left Naruto more than enough time to see Hinata, but he missed her too. Jiraiya had heard she was back for the break and had insisted Naruto bring her over that day. He knew he would see her at dinner, but it was important that they catch up with her outside of a social setting. She would tell them anything if they waited until then.

"We'll see you later Mikoto," Naruto grinned. Sakura only smiled shyly and raised her hand in farewell, already being dragged by her other to Naruto's car. Mikoto waved and went to her own car. She hoped her nephew was already at her house so she didn't have to start by herself. She didn't like cooking by herself when she knew Shisui was coming to help her.

Sakura had to pull Naruto sharply to get him to stop pulling her so harshly. "Jesus Christ, we'll get there when we get there, idiot, there's no need to drag me halfway across the town. I'll be roadkill by then." Naruto only laughed and continued walking, though did stop pulling her so hard.

"Sorry. We're already going to be late getting back home and you know how concerned Jiraiya and Tsunade are about you."

"That's because Tsunade's a psychologist and Jiraiya does anything she says," she said back begrudgingly. She didn't mind talking to Naruto's adoptive parents, but that didn't mean she had to be happy about it. Tsunade always liked to try and pick apart her brain, but she had never gotten very far. She supposed they just wanted to make sure she wasn't about to kill herself for Naruto's sake. The blond probably couldn't take it if she did that, but she and he knew that wasn't on her mind. It had been at one time, but then she wasn't in that terrible house anymore. The thoughts went away with that man, though the nightmares did not. She still suffered from those every now and then. She hadn't suffered one around Shisui and hoped she never would.

"Oh, Sakura, they just worry about us foster kids," Naruto laughed. "You know they found out about me because the program took me to Tsunade and Jiraiya just became way too invested in me. You know they really aren't that bad."

"Maybe if Tsunade had been the counselor they sent me to after that whole mess I wouldn't be so fucked up now," she said harshly. Naruto just shook his head.

"Sakura, she's here now and she isn't charging to try and make you feel better. That's the important thing. Maybe if you opened up to the people around you, you wouldn't feel like you're such a horrible person. You really aren't. You just don't know how to make friends well," he laughed and opened the car door for her.

"I don't need the help anymore," she shot back as she sat in the seat. Naruto shut the door and slid into the driver's side before he answered.

"Bullshit." He gave her a skeptical look and she was slightly surprised. He wasn't usually one to push like this, more the one to leave her to her own devices, but he was becoming more concerned with her mental health and she didn't know why. "Tell me the last time you held Shisui's hand when you were out in public, or the last time you even went out on a date with him and made it clear to the other women around that you were with him."

"That doesn't count," she shot at him. "I'm not affectionate in public and that's just how some people are. Shisui gets more than enough attention when we're alone."

"Do you fall asleep with him or are you still up half the night?" Naruto asked, giving her that skeptical look again. "How many times in the past two weeks have you left the bed to go and watch television to distract your mind?" Sakura didn't answer. She didn't want to admit to him her personal life. "Sakura," he said warningly as he began driving.

"Well, first off, it isn't any of your business. Second, we haven't really been in the same bed for the past two weeks because of finals."

"You haven't answered my questions. How many times did you spend the night together?"

"Four times," she said quietly, not looking at him. She hated when he managed to get these things out of her, but she knew she couldn't stay silent and not tell him. He wouldn't let her out of his sight until she told him. It was an annoying quality about him.

"How many times have you left the bed?"

"None," she answered defensively.

"Fine. How many times have you stayed up until three am on the computer?" he asked, knowing that was her next choice if she didn't want to get out of bed. If she had her computer close, then she wouldn't go and watch TV. There were more exciting things to do on the internet that would tire her out more quickly than a show ever could.

"Four," she answered sourly. She was putting her walls up against him and folding into herself and he knew it, but it was the only way he could get answers out of her. She just wanted Shisui. He didn't do this crazy shit. He just let her be, though wasn't too happy when he had to wake her up when he knew she hadn't been able to sleep the night before. He was worried, she knew, but he didn't want to get into a fight about something that didn't really bother either of them. She stayed in bed and that's all he really cared about.

"Why?"

"Because, Naruto," she spat, "If I fall asleep without being completely exhausted, I have nightmares. Do you want me to scare off my first love because I keep having terrible nightmares?" she wasn't happy about this topic and he wished he had let Tsunade deal with it at this point, but she didn't know the finer points of Sakura's personality. She would always be pretty closed off to others that weren't Naruto.

"That's why you should work through it," Naruto said, exasperated. They were almost to his house now. He knew it had been a bad idea to rile her up, but he didn't care. He wanted to know these things. He had known she was looking tired, was always looking exhausted.

"I don't need help," she said harshly. "I've never needed it."

"Sakura, just try to talk to her. Maybe she can help you with the nightmares." Naruto pulled into the driveway, though didn't get out yet, Sakura following suit. "She wants you to know that you can always call her for a free counseling session. You know she'd never say that to you, knowing how you'd react, but come on. If I'm saying it, you know it's true."

"I don't need it."

"Fine, Sak," he sighed, obviously giving up. "Let's go see them before you run off on me because I pissed you off too much." Sakura only nodded, not looking at him. The use of her nickname didn't make her annoyance wane and she slammed the door on her way out. He knew she wasn't going to say anything to either of his parents and he felt slightly bad now.

They walked in the door and Naruto led her to the kitchen where Tsunade was attempting her hand at a pie. She wasn't particularly good at baking, but that didn't stop her from trying. She didn't believe in giving up, though it never came out very well. Jiraiya and Naruto always ate the entire thing anyways, even if it was to make her feel better.

"Sakura," Tsunade said, setting her honey-colored eyes to her. "I haven't seen you in a while, how are you?" Sakura didn't answer, just avoided her gaze and glared at the counter. "Naruto, what the hell?" Tsunade knew enough about the girl to know that Naruto had pissed her off so she wasn't about to speak to anyone she wasn't close to. That pretty much excluded everyone save for Naruto.

"I pissed her off, ma, I'm sorry," Naruto sighed. He hadn't meant to, he really hadn't. He didn't think she would get so defensive over the fact that she was still having nightmares and didn't know how to deal with them. They'd been having this argument for years, but she didn't get any less defensive.

"Naruto, I can't believe you!" Tsunade was hell bent on scolding him right there in front of Sakura, but she was interrupted by the quiet girl.

"You're going to burn your filling if you don't put in the corn starch soon."

"What?"

Sakura sighed and got up, walking to the stove. "Where's your corn starch?" Tsunade handed it to her and watched her spoon it into the apple filling on the stove, stirring it quickly. "Bowl?" It was handed to her and the contents of the pan was emptied into it.

"Thank you, Sakura." Tsunade was sure that pie would have turned into a terrible mess had she not intervened. Sakura only nodded and went back to sit at the counter. Sakura certainly hated letting things burn she would often just take over herself when it came down to that. Tsunade was used to it at this point; it had happened several times throughout the years, and she just stepped back and gave the young woman anything she demanded from her. It certainly made the cooking and baking turn out a lot better.

It was uncomfortably quiet now. Tsunade began rolling the dough for the crust. This was the only part she ever seemed to get right. "Why don't you go find Jiraiya?" she asked Naruto. Naruto only nodded and jumped away from the counter, going to find him. Sakura didn't feel too uncomfortable being around Tsunade alone, but she did hope the older woman knew she wasn't getting anything out of her. "I'm sorry."

"Why?" Sakura knew her voice was harsh, but hadn't really tried to stop it from being so. She didn't want the woman to think she was open to questioning and talking. This was usually how she interacted with the woman and she had given up several times. She didn't know why she kept trying every time she was over. She thought she would have completely given up at some point through the years.

"I know Naruto can be a handful, but he's just concerned about you."

"I know. You think I don't know?" Oh boy, she really was angry now. Tsunade hadn't thought about what she was saying and she was going to be privy to one of Sakura's outbursts now. "I've been with Naruto since the beginning," she spat, standing from her seat at this point. "You think I don't know he's concerned? You think I don't know that the only reason he still hangs around me is because I've been there and I identify with all that he's been through and him the same? You know nothing of what we've been through together and how much we love each other. He pissed me off because he was trying to dig into a part of my life he isn't allowed to know about because it is private. He isn't used to it and it's probably hurting him too." Tsunade was blindsided by the way Sakura looked into Naruto's psyche. There was a passing thought that she would make a good counselor, but before she could really react to Sakura's outburst, she was already stalking to the door. She slammed it behind her.

"Was that Sakura?" Jiraiya had finally come downstairs with Naruto.

"I'm afraid she's stormed out of our house again," Tsunade sighed, turning back to her pie. She was slightly annoyed by that fact. She wouldn't let Naruto, Jiraiya, or anyone else do that, but Sakura was different. There wasn't any getting through to her by being aggressive and it had taken years for Tsunade to figure that out.

"What did you say to her?" Oh God, Naruto was angry now. There was something about those two. One gets angry and the other follows soon behind. One was happy and the other was more or less happy as well. It was an odd codependency, but only happened when they were around each other. They weren't as codependent when apart.

"I just told her that you're concerned about her. It wasn't anything that she should blow up over," Tsunade immediately went into counselor mode, trying to damage control at this point. She could use force on Naruto, however, even if it was useless on Sakura.

"She blew up because she knows I'm concerned about her," Naruto sighed. "She doesn't think she needs to be told and she's struggling with it just as much as I am. She isn't good at communicating, ma. I'd better go calm her down and try and get her to come back in." Tsunade only nodded and went back to her baking, not watching Naruto walk out the door. Jiraiya kept his silence and merely went to sit down at the counter. He didn't understand anything about the two young people and mostly just left his wife to them.

"Sakura," Naruto said quietly as he softly shut the door behind him. Sakura didn't look up or even give any indication that she noticed him. He sighed and sat beside her on the bottom step, reaching for her hand. She let him take it and had a sudden flashback to when they'd been six year old kids, going to a new foster home. They held hands and stared at the big house for so long. She had been scared and he had an easy grin on his face. He had given her courage and comfort, much as he still did to this day. "Sakura, listen."

"No, I don't want to listen anymore," she said harshly, blinking back tears.

"Sh, Sak. Tell me what's bothering you," he said quietly, hoping she would. She really did have difficulties with communicating her feelings and he hoped she would shove her insecurities aside for a change.

"Everything's changing."

"You're going to have to explain, Sak," he said gently, squeezing her hand.

"Just…what I said," she said exasperated. How the fuck was she supposed to explain it? She didn't know how to and he usually understood it. He could just read her mind more often than not and now he was having trouble with it. She didn't like that. She just wanted him to be the same old Naruto and she guessed he wasn't the same anymore. It bothered her more than she would like to say.

"Alright, alright," he sighed. He wasn't going to get any explanation out of her. He would have to guess, just like he usually did, and hope he was right. "Are you upset that we don't spend so much time together anymore?"

"Kind of," she shrugged. She really wasn't good at this. "I know there isn't much time because Shisui keeps stealing me away from you when I'm not doing homework and you've got Hinata, but I guess that's part of it."

"Then what's the other part?"

"You're my best friend! You're my only friend!" She was finally letting her feelings out, but she didn't know how to do it other than bursting forth with it. "You can't just tell what I'm thinking anymore and there are things I can't tell you anymore because they're too private, even for you. I don't like it. It's stupid that we can't be like we were."

"We're growing up," Naruto said, giving her a slight smile. "It's okay. Things will change and things won't really be the same anymore and we have to adapt to it, like we've always done. We'll still be friends until the end of time, though, okay?" Sakura just sighed and shook her head, wanting to cry again. She hadn't seen him in about a month and they hadn't really gone on that long without seeing each other before.

"I know I act like I don't want you around, but it's not true and you know it," she sighed. "I want to be around you, but I don't know how to do it anymore. The lines are bleeding together and I don't know how to be around you and be around other people too. I don't want to be around them, just you." Her words were jumbled and confusing and she didn't quite understand herself.

"Sakura, listen," he said softly, looking up at her. She met his eyes and he was glad she did. It was difficult talking to her when she rarely wanted to look at him. "Shisui's my replacement, okay? I know that isn't what you want to hear. It's kind of hard to understand, you know? I'll always be there for you and you know that. I'll always be the one that knows you best and will take you out of any situation that's upsetting you. Shisui will do the same thing, though, and he's around you all the time. I know it's hard to do and hard to accept, but you're going to have to."

"I don't want to replace you with Shisui, that sounds so mean to say," she sighed. "I never tried in the first place. You're two different people and you know me so much better than he does. You understand me more than he does."

"Yeah, but, Sak, I'm not in love with you," he laughed. "I want to spend time with you, but I'm not going to marry you or have sex with you, and hell am I going to kiss you. You're like my sister, and that's great. We have our own significant others, though, and they're there for us when we can't be."

"What are you trying to say?" Sakura asked, annoyed. She couldn't figure her way through his words.

"I'm trying to say that you have someone that's trying to understand and love you, Sak. I've been the only person you've let in your entire life. I know it's hard, but it's time to let him in, too. Tell him about your nightmares and why social situations scare you so much. Let him figure out your nervous tics and when to take you away from what's scaring you. You can do it, it's just going to be scared."

"Will you still be there?" she asked, quite scared. This is what she meant by everything was changing. She didn't know how she would be able to get through it if he wasn't there too much anymore. She wanted him to be around still. She didn't think she could deal with it if Naruto left.

"I know, I know, Sakura," he smiled, finally pulling himself up. He extended his hand to her and she let him pull her up. "I know if I left you'd break. That's how it's always been and that's how it'll always be. I won't leave. You just have to understand it's time to open up and not be so harsh."

"I know," she sighed. She looked at the door. "I really don't want to talk to your parents."

"Fine. Let me say goodbye to them and we can go back to Shisui's house so you can get ready for dinner." He wasn't about to force Sakura to face his parents after that conversation. She was already closing herself up again and change didn't happen just like that. It would take a while for her to get used to it and he hoped it would happen. For so long, he'd been the only bright spot in her life and now it was changing and she didn't know how to deal with it. He didn't know how to help her deal with it, either. He'd have to ask Tsunade later, after dinner.

"Hey, ma," he called as he walked back into the house. "I know I promised Sakura would stay and talk, but she doesn't want to. I'm sorry. I do have something to ask you later, though."

"What's that?" Tsunade asked, honey colored eyes watching him closely. She wasn't about to let him leave before she knew what he needed to talk to her about later. It would fester in her mind and annoy her until they talked. It wasn't the best thing for her mood at times like these.

"I just had a talk with Sakura and there's just some things I need help picking apart," he shrugged. She nodded.

"Make sure you come back before dinner and change."

"Oh, that's right. I'll go get my clothes now and take a shower at Shisui's. Shisui is already at Mikoto's," he said as he ran past his mom and went to his room. He rifled through his closet and pulled out a pair of slacks and a collared shirt with a sweater. It wasn't too cold around Christmastime here, but a sweater was still needed. "Alright, see you later," he said as he came back down the stairs. Tsunade only grunted in response, Jiraiya raising a hand in goodbye.

"Are you good?" Sakura asked as he came back out from the house. He nodded, holding the car door open for her again. He didn't really say anything as he drove to Shisui's house, not really knowing what to say at this point. He never really knew what to say after she managed to share her thoughts. There wasn't much to say anymore. "If it means anything, I did have a conversation with Mikoto." In his surprise, he was speechless. It took him a few minutes to work past his stuck tongue to get words out.

"That's cool," he finally managed. "Did you like her?"

"Kind of," she shrugged. "I didn't like that she tried too hard to get me to like her, but it's probably because she's Shisui's aunt and he doesn't have parents anymore. I'm guessing she tries to replace his other, at least." Naruto nodded. Sakura was amazingly impressive when it came to understanding people's motives and the reasons they do things.

"I'm impressed," he shrugged. He pulled into the driveway. Sakura waited for him to get out of the car before she did. She led him inside the house and looked around, slightly confused, before setting her bags down and going to the kitchen to get a glass of water. "Are you a little lost?" Naruto asked, barely holding his laughter in. Sakura seemed out of her element here and didn't really understand where she was. It was quite entertaining.

"I've only been in here for a day or so," Sakura shrugged. "I really haven't explored and I haven't really wanted to. I know where our bedroom is, so that's all I really need to know."

"Well, I know my way around, so don't worry. Do you need anything, though?" he asked, wanting to make sure. He didn't want to leave her to get ready if she needed something and didn't know where it was. He had been here several times and knew where everything was at this point. It was the way Sakura was at his house when his parents weren't around to make her nervous.

"No, I think I've got everything I need. You know Shisui wouldn't make me go too far for anything and usually has it out for me when I come back," Sakura shrugged. That's just how he was. Naruto nodded.

"Alright, then. I'm off to take a shower and change then. I'll come find you when I'm done."

"I took a shower earlier, but I'll still be in the bathroom by the time you're done. I have to look like a girl tonight, remember? That takes work," she laughed. Naruto laughed himself and shook his head.

"Fine, fine," he laughed. "I understand. Off you go," he waited until she walked up the stairs to her and Shisui's room before he went off to the guest bathroom that was on the first floor.

He went searching for her after his shower, looking quite nice in his outfit for the night. He went into the master bedroom and knocked on the door. "You can come in, Naruto, I'm not naked," she called. He was a little surprised when he entered the bathroom and saw her. She had let her hair down from its usual messy bun and it was straight, hanging to her waist. She was pulling her bangs away from her face and wrinkling her nose at her reflection. What really made him stop was the fact that she really was wearing a dress. Dark green, it went great with her hair, and he wasn't too angry over it. It didn't show anything she should be uncomfortable with.

"What's up, Sakura?" he asked, wondering why she was wrinkling her nose at herself.

"I don't like it when my hair's down," she said quietly, picking up a small pouch and searching through it. It held her makeup, what little she had.

"It's okay, Sakura, I love seeing it down," he grinned at her proudly. "It isn't that bad, you know?"

"It's not that it looks good or bad," she shrugged, "It's just the memories." She sighed and began doing the light makeup that she would wear. She didn't know how to do makeup really and didn't like wearing heavy shit, so the light eyeshadow and mascara was the only thing she could do. Naruto didn't seem to mind it and he'd definitely tell her if she looked bad.

"Why don't you cut it then?" he asked. He had always wondered why she had never cut her hair if she hated it so much. She had had ample time and opportunities to chop it all off, but she had never done it.

"I don't know, she shrugged and looked at herself again. "Maybe it's because I hate change and you know I do." He laughed and nodded. He had slightly forgotten that she hated change and it was a little hard for her to do anything that included it. "Alright, I'm ready. How about you?"

"Yeah. Let's get you in the vicinity of Shisui again," he grinned.

"Why?" she asked, crossing her arms. She was slightly annoyed that he'd said that and wasn't moving another inch until he answered and she wasn't so angry at him anymore. He only grinned and shook his head at her.

"Sakura, you're so much nicer when he's around. He softens you up and you're a little more open to things when he's involved. I know you haven't noticed it, but the people around you have. Is that really that bad?" he asked, shrugging. Sakura only smiled and let him lead her to the car. She was thinking about what to say and couldn't really think of anything. Though distracted with thinking of what she wanted to say, she did remember to grab the pie she'd made the night before.

"You know, if Shisui changes me too much, I won't be the Sakura you know and love anymore," she finally said after they were already on their way to Mikoto's house.

"You might not be the same, but that won't stop me from loving you," he grinned. "That's not a problem, you know. Sometimes change is good and you're looking a whole lot happier, you know?" That was a good thing in his book. Sakura didn't answer, merely looked out the window at the passing scenery. Naruto didn't push her to continue the conversation, something she was glad for. He always seemed to know when to stop pushing for conversation.

"Are you doing okay?" he asked when he pulled into the Uchiha's driveway.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she sighed, looking up at the house. She managed to get out of the car, but couldn't make her legs move past that. Naruto was beside her in the next moment, holding her hand tightly and staring up at the house with her.

"It's not that same house, Sak," he said quietly. "Don't you worry about that, okay? Let's go," he grinned at her. Sakura only took a deep breath and followed him to the door. He knocked a couple times before opening the door. "Only Shisui and the brothers are here with their parents right now," he said, "There will be more people later, but it's a little too early for that." He thought that information would make her feel a little better. Sakura just nodded, though her chest was feeling a little lighter.

"Mikoto!" Naruto called into the house.

"In here!" Naruto pulled Sakura to the kitchen, where the voice had come from. Mikoto and Shisui were working together, managing to cook several different things at one time without getting into each other's way. It was entrancing and Sakura couldn't focus for a moment while she watched them. "Hello, you two, we were wondering when you were going to show up." It was only about four-thirty, but Mikoto was used to Naruto showing up a lot earlier than that.

"We had to go to my house, remember? We would have been later, but the conversations were cut short," Naruto shrugged. "Sakura brought a pie!" Sakura mumbled something incoherently and passed the pie off to the older woman.

"Wow, looks great. Should it be kept in the fridge?" it was cold and so she inferred it should be. At Sakura's nod, she tossed it into the fridge. Sakura seemed to want to say something, to move and do something, but she could seem to get the courage to do so. Mikoto guessed it had something to do with Shisui, so she nudged him with her shoulder. She thought it slightly odd that her nephew hadn't said anything to Sakura yet.

"Hey, Sakura," Shisui finally said, turning to smile at her. He had been waiting for her to say something to him first, but she kept her silence and didn't say a word. He saw the look in her eyes and he knew she wanted to touch him in some way, shape, or form, but didn't know how to do such a thing with an audience. He took the initiative to do it for her. He crossed the short distance to her and laid a hand on her arm, leaning in to press a kiss to her cheek briefly. Her hand caught in his sleeve and she smiled before he pulled away. "I'll be by your side later, okay? Go hang out with Naruto and Sasuke," he said quietly before he pulled away, a nod his answer.

"Alright, we'll go bother Sasuke," Naruto said happily, grabbing Sakura's hand again and pulling her up the nearby staircase. Sakura looked away from Shisui so she didn't lose her footing, but she couldn't help but feel like she wanted to stay there with him. She would rather be with him , watching him cook, than having social time with the other two.

"Do we really have to hang out with Sasuke?" Sakura asked, slightly annoyed. Why did they have to come so early? She could have sat in bed with a good book for another three hours if Naruto hadn't been insisted on coming so early.

"Well, you didn't want to be at my parent's house, so this is what you're stuck with," Naruto said begrudgingly. "You know I'm not about to let you do what you want when you snub my parents like that." Sakura just rolled her eyes.

"You know, you have more control over me than I like, Naruto. I think it's time I get my own car so you can't do this anymore."

"Oh, hush, you know you like it!" Naruto laughed. Sakura just shook her head again. Naruto knocked twice on a seemingly random door and opened it with little other hesitation. Sasuke was inside, just sitting at his desk and on his computer. Sakura didn't say a word, but Naruto jumped right in and slung an arm around his neck. "Hey, Sasuke! What's up?"

"Well, I was having a relaxing afternoon until you busted into my room and started yelling," Sasuke said vehemently, not even turning. He hadn't quite noticed Sakura yet. She didn't feel bad about it, didn't really care. She was just silently standing back and hoping to be ignored, if anything. She didn't care to speak to them. She stood awkwardly in the doorway, unknowing if she could sit.

"Hey, I brought Sakura, be nice," Naruto said, hitting Sasuke over the head. Sasuke glared at him and finally turned around to see Sakura.

"Hey Sakura, sorry I didn't notice you." There was a ghost of a smile on his face, one that mirrored hers. She had learned to be comfortable around him and could smile every now and then now, but that was only because they had spent so much time in the library together. She wouldn't have been nearly as comfortable with him if she hadn't donated so much time to helping him.

"That's fine. You had an idiot blocking your sight," she sighed and finally moved past the doorway. Sasuke's room was nice. There wasn't a lot of clutter and he seemed to keep most things personal close to him. He definitely didn't leave them out where Naruto could get to them and Sakura guessed it was after years of learning experience. She had caught on quite quickly never to leave personal things lying around in plain sight. Naruto would be sure to go through it.

"Yeah. He does that a lot. Why are you guys here so early?" Sasuke had finally learned how to speak to her like a person now. They were both beginning to be friends, though Sakura didn't know how good she'd be at it.

"I took Sakura to my house so my folks could talk to her away from all the chatter, but she got a little pissed and left," Naruto laughed sheepishly. "I wasn't about to just sit around at Shisui's house doing nothing while she just read a book, so I decided we'd come here early and annoy you for a little while." The look on Sasuke's face immediately went from normal to sour looking.

"I don't see why you have to annoy me, idiot. Shisui and my mother are downstairs and they don't mind you nearly as much as I do." Sasuke still was pretty cold when he wanted to be and he didn't want to be annoyed by Naruto right now. Sakura he could deal with. She was usually quiet and would sit in the corner and read a book while he did his own thing. He couldn't see how Naruto couldn't just do the same.

"Shisui and Mikoto are busy cooking, sourpuss. If I came up here we could play some video games," Naruto's tone of voice definitely indicated that he thought Sasuke was being dumb.

"Oh? And what will Sakura do then?" Sasuke asked, a brow raised.

"Don't think you'll be able to get me involved in any video games," she said flippantly. Sasuke only grunted and tossed her a book that was close beside him. She caught it one handed and finally sat down. She curled up on the bed, right against the wall. He tossed her a blanket, knowing she was often cold even if it was about eighty degrees in the room.

"Now that's that all settled, let's play something!" Naruto exclaimed, pulling a rather uncomfortable looking chair from a random corner of the room. Sasuke only sighed and began setting up something on the TV. He didn't like playing with Naruto. He got far too excited and liked to yell at the screen. It was quite annoying when he was trying to focus. Hopefully with Sakura here he would shut up a bit.

He was incorrect. Naruto did not shut up just because the grumpy Sakura was there. She didn't seem to notice, either. She just sat there and read her book and didn't even seem to notice Naruto was almost standing and yelling at the television as he furiously mashed the buttons. Sasuke sighed when the match finished.

"How did you read through that?" Sasuke asked her incredulously. Sakura didn't seem to realize that he said anything to her and he waited for a moment until she marked her page and looked up at him.

"If you really must know, I've been friends with Naruto for so long that it's quite easy to ignore his yelling at this point," she answered simply. "I didn't think anything was wrong," she shrugged. Naruto laughed and shook his head at Sasuke.

"She's been dealing with me for fourteen years, Sasuke, don't you think she's learned how to deal with it?" Sasuke just shook his head and turned back to the screen. He couldn't deal with these two at the moment. They were a handful by themselves, when they were with each other it was even worse. He didn't know how they even managed to deal with each other.

"I think I hear Mikoto calling," Sakura said, setting the book down on Sasuke's bed. Sasuke looked up from the screen and shrugged.

"Probably. It is getting late. Go with Sakura downstairs, idiot, I still have to change." He got up and began turning everything off. Naruto sighed and nodded, leaving his controller on top of the desk. That was where Sasuke always had him put it because he had lost a few through the years. After a while Sasuke just made him put it in the same place so no more would be lost.

"Come on, Sak," Naruto said, smiling at her and offering her his hand. She let him pull her off the bed and followed him from the room. He seemed to know this house pretty well, he didn't even hesitate around the several corners he took her.

"Did you call Mikoto?" Naruto asked when he got to the bottom of the stairs.

"Yep. It's almost time and look who showed up," Mikoto smiled and gestured to the door. Hinata was standing there, looking quite shy, as she mumbled and went to hang up her coat. Naruto's face lit up and he rushed over to her, helping her. Sakura didn't say anything, only nodded imperceptibly at the shy woman.

"You okay?" Shisui was beside her in the next moment and his sudden movement and speech surprised her. She jumped and flushed, staring up at him. "A little jumpy there, huh?" He smiled warmly and pressed his hand to her arm. She leaned back against him.

"I'm fine. I don't really want to be here, but I'm fine," she said quietly so only he could hear. He only smiled again and squeezed her arm.

"I like your dress. I take it Mikoto helped you with it?"

"Of course. Do you think I would have found anything without her?" Sakura sighed. Shisui only laughed, pressing a kiss to her head. She closed her eyes at the contact and hoped no one was watching. She didn't like being noticed when little moments like these were going on. When she opened her eyes, she noticed Hinata watching them. She flashed a warning look at her and turned back to Shisui.

"Is she okay?" Hinata whispered to Naruto as they moved into the kitchen. "She just glared at me."

"You didn't look away quick enough," he laughed, quickly glancing at Sakura to make sure she wasn't paying attention to his and Hinata's conversation. "She doesn't like being noticed when she's giving or receiving attention." Hinata only nodded. She had been curious when she realized Shisui had shown up by Sakura's side and pressed a kiss to her head. It had been a cute moment and she was fascinated. She had never known Sakura to take anything like that from anyone. She supposed Naruto was right. It was a better plan to look away before she noticed.

"Don't worry, I'll be with you," Shisui was saying lowly to Sakura. Sakura narrowed her eyes and seemed to fidget. "What's wrong?"

"Can we go somewhere else?" she said softly. She knew Hinata and Naruto were watching them now and she was only too cognizant of that. Shisui only pressed his hand to the small of her back and led her to the living room, where there was a little more privacy. "Sorry," she sighed, "I knew Naruto and Hinata were listening and it was bothering me."

"That's fine. Did you need to tell me something then?"

"Not really. I just know you won't shut up and I didn't want them hearing," she flashed him a smile. "They watched you when you kissed my head."

"Oh," he understood now. Sakura really didn't like it when there were witnesses to their affection. "Well, since I have you in a place where no one is watching," he pulled her close and held her tightly, knowing she would break away if he didn't. "I think I'll give you a real kiss." Her eyes darted around, trying to make sure there really weren't any witnesses, before she gave him a small smile and acquiesced to him. He grinned and kissed her softly. Her fingers were tight in his sleeve and she didn't seem to want to pull away when he finally let her go.

"You're lucky I let you have that," she said, though there was a warm smile on her face. He only smiled back at her and hugged her tightly again.

"Like you had a choice," he laughed. The doorbell rang and she all but jumped away from him. "Guess that's it for the kisses tonight," he shook his head. He had been enjoying teasing her and she had been allowing it. He had hoped for a few more minutes of that. Sakura just shook her head.

"You'll get more later."

"Shisui, can you get the door?" Mikoto called from the other room.

"Of course!" Shisui called back. He was about to move when Sakura caught his sleeve. "Don't worry," he shook his head while he chuckled at her. "I'll come back to you in a moment. Here," he pulled her to an armchair and managed to get her to sit down. "Stay here and I'll be back, okay? You don't have to talk to anyone if you don't want to."

"Alright," she nodded, though was looking rather nervous. Shisui went to the door.

"Aunt Mikoto, Naruto's parents are here!" he shouted back to the kitchen. Jiraiya and Tsunade smiled and came through the doorway. Sakura was not lost on Tsunade, she noticed her first. She was sitting rather tense in that armchair. Tsunade had seen her this way before and thought it pretty normal. She watched as Shisui made his way over to her and smiled, offering her his hand. She took it and he pulled her up, keeping her close to his side. Tsunade wondered. Was there something Naruto wasn't telling her and Jiraiya? He hadn't said anything about Shisui and she was sure he was involved with Sakura in some way. She highly doubted the sour girl would let him touch her otherwise.

"Mikoto, how are you?" Tsunade finally pulled herself away from watching the pink haired woman and made her way to the kitchen. "I brought a pie, hope that's okay."

"More pie is always good, as usual Tsunade," Mikoto smiled at her and took the pie, placing it in the fridge. She went back to her cooking, though didn't push Tsunade to leave. "Did you want something to drink?" She had wine behind her and there was some hard liquor behind the bar. She would grab anything the blonde desired.

"I'll go for just about anything," Tsunade said, sighing heavily. She went to pull a chair from the dining room and sat out of the way of Mikoto. She was handed a drink as she reentered the kitchen and she sipped it. "You always pick the best wine."

"I should. Do you know how many dinner parties I host in a year?" Mikoto laughed. "If I didn't pick good wine I'm sure someone would complain." It was true. No one bothered to bring wine to Mikoto's dinner parties anymore because it always paled in comparison to her picks. She always had plenty of it on hand anyways. Anything someone else brought would usually go back home with them.

"I'm sure no one would care about the wine. You always have liquor too," Tsunade smiled warmly.

"You do seem troubled though," Mikoto didn't beat around the bush when it came to changing the topic of conversation, "What's up?" Tsunade looked around the kitchen, hoping there was no one to overhear. She hoped the doorbell wouldn't go off in the next few minutes either.

"I was just watching Sakura. Naruto's been bringing her around since they were young. She never really wanted anything to do with anyone but Naruto and I just witnessed her allowing Shisui to touch her. It is certainly interesting."

"Oh, you know her? I only met her today. Shisui's dating her," Mikoto said, slightly surprised. She hadn't thought Tsunade knew the young woman, though didn't put two and two together. She had been far too busy with her boys coming home and getting dinner ready.

"Oh really? Naruto hadn't told me that," Tsunade now looked very interested.

"What are you up to, Tsunade? From my impression, Sakura doesn't want her head shrunk. You're out of your league with that girl."

"I've been out of my league since she came into my life with Naruto," Tsunade sighed. "When she needs it, though, I'll be here. She's got to break down eventually." Mikoto just made a noncommittal noise and shrugged. She didn't know much about the girl and therefore couldn't give her input. She just knew Shisui really was attached to her. Thankfully, the doorbell sounded, but Shisui didn't call back to her. Had to be family. He didn't tell her when the family came, she expected as such.

Tsunade wandered off, thankfully, saving Mikoto from anymore conversation about Sakura and Shisui. She didn't care to look into the young woman's psyche. She thought that was better left up to the young woman in question.

"Hello, mother, what seems to have you in such an annoyed mood?" Itachi was there a second later, standing there with his arms crossed. He watched his mother with an unfathomable stare and wondered why she was giving off an aura of irritation.

"Just our old friend the psychologist trying to pick apart your cousin's girlfriend's brain," Mikoto said flippantly. "The usual." Itachi chuckled and shook his head at his mother.

"You know she'll never stop, mother. You two are much the same, you know. You care too much about other people as well."

"You can keep saying that and I'll keep ignoring it. Go, talk with the family members so they don't come looking for me and find me annoyed." Itachi only nodded and left. He didn't know why his mother tried to deny it. She cared too much about others, simply didn't want to talk about them where they couldn't hear. It was irritating for those around her that wanted to talk about things like that. Itachi could see how she could get irritated, though. It wasn't her place to comment on such things.

"Hello, little cousin, how are you today?" As usual, Shisui was the first to catch his attention. The little pink haired woman was pressed to his side, sharp eyes watching those around her. She seemed out of her comfort zone and Shisui's hand was tightly clenched in hers.

"Nothing," he said, turning to join Shisui. "I do not understand why much of the family must be invited to dinner." There was a slight note of irritation in his lofty voice, and only Shisui noticed. Sakura thought him sarcastic and her eyes darted to him for a fast second. Shisui only shook his head at his cousin.

"You know Mikoto loves a party, cousin. What's the problem? Don't you like seeing your aunts and uncles?"

"This is the seventh time this year I will be asked why I am not yet wed. I do not like answering that question and would rather keep it to myself." Sakura managed to keep her attention on the conversation now, though her eyes still darted around the room more often than not. Itachi thought her wary and wondered what her fight or flight response weighed heavily on. Would she attack or run away?

"Why aren't you married yet, little cousin?" Shisui said jokingly. "I thought the girls were falling over you."

"It is not the girls I wish to fall over me."

Sakura choked on her laughter and hid her smile behind her hand, turning slightly more towards Shisui.

"Yes, he was serious."

"Jesus Christ, Itachi, you can't just say something like that without warning," Sakura finally said something. Itachi only smiled slightly and shook his head.

"I often say such things without warning. You have not spent much time around me and therefore do not know as such."

"Remind me to spend more time around you." She was instantly so much warmer to him and he wondered why. He sent a questioning glance towards Shisui. Sakura seemed very interested in the conversation going forward, though, so Shisui couldn't really say anything without her noticing. Sakura was interested in Itachi's curious look.

"What's wrong?" Itachi was surprised. Most of his facial expressions weren't easy to notice by those who had not known him for very long. He had spent maybe an afternoon with her and she had been beside Shisui the entire time, on edge.

"I am just wondering why you are comfortable around me now. You were tense not even two minutes ago. I would like to know what has changed."

"Don't take it the wrong way," she stepped closer to him in an attempt to keep from others overhearing. No one seemed to be paying attention to them. "It's because you're gay," she whispered. Itachi could not help the astonishment from being plain as day on his face. He couldn't help the low chuckle that came forth.

"Oh? Why would that be?" He asked, a lilt to his voice and a smirk on his face. He wasn't offended in the least, merely curious. She honestly was an interesting one and he understood why Shisui was so very obsessed with her. She was entertaining once she got comfortable and she seemed to be able to flip the switch once she deemed someone acceptable. Her face fell, though, and she looked away from him, more interested in darting her eyes around the room again. She squeezed Shisui's hand. He looked down at her and she nodded, almost imperceptibly. Shisui stepped close to him.

"She was abused," he said quickly, lowly. Itachi nodded.

"Well, I am quite glad you are not scared of me, Sakura," he stated, putting as much warmth as he could into his voice. Shisui looked at him gratuitously, glad that he was trying his best to make her feel comfortable in this situation. Sakura was pressed close to his side, almost hiding behind him, and had his hand in a vice grip. She still hadn't run away, though, and that was good.

"I know it's dumb, Itachi, you don't have to patronize me." He almost didn't catch her words, they were spoken so lowly, but he noticed. He narrowed his eyes. Shisui wasn't about to say anything to her, thinking Itachi a better match for this.

"I am not," he said, voice level, though a slight note of incredulous made it through. He hadn't thought she was really serious, but by the way she was avoiding eye contact and acting rather standoffish, she really was offended. What was with this girl? He had been attempting to be nice. He wasn't very good at social situations either. "I apologize if I made it seem that way and hope you understand I am truly happy you are not scared of me."

"I'm sorry I overreacted," her walls were down halfway again. Itachi blinked. How the hell did this woman function? She went between emotions quickly and seemed to misunderstand things easily. He wondered why she did as such. Was it because she wasn't too used to people? Probably. He had found himself doing the same years ago, though had tapered the reaction quite a lot.

"Do not allow yourself to be caught by one of the older aunts or uncles. They will attempt to set you up with me," he told her, looking around the room. There weren't many family members here as of yet, but they were still arriving and soon it would be a sea of black hair and black eyes. "Remember not to leave her, Shisui, she'll never find you again if you do."

"You don't have to tell me that. Just remember, Sakura, if you lose me and can't find me, just look for the blond idiot. He'll be the easiest to find in this mess of family members." Sakura only nodded. More people were filing in through the door and filling up the space in the living room. She knew the house was quite spacious, but she preferred a wide berth of personal space from other people. She just squeezed Shisui's hand and pressed her side to his.

A while later, Sakura was still pressed into Shisui's side. An unkown woman approached them, a girl with long blonde hair. Sakura had seen said woman milling about for the past hour or so and had noticed her watching Shisui and her. Shisui hadn't noticed, too busy talking to Itachi to realize anyone was watching them, but he had realized Sakura's tenseness and asked her. She hadn't answered.

"Hey, Shisui, long time no see." The blonde's words obviously surprised Shisui because he stopped for a moment before looking down at her, like he hadn't quite realized she was there. Itachi watched with an unimpressed look on his face, wondering what she wanted now. She was present at a lot of the dinner parties his mother hosted and often attempted to talk to Shisui.

"Sakura, would you like to get a drink with me?" Itachi cut across whatever Shisui was going to say. Itachi could see the irritated look in Sakura's eyes and he guessed she didn't particularly like it when women talked to her boyfriend. Guessing by the way the blonde was smiling at Shisui, she was going to say something that wouldn't suit Sakura's tastes. Itachi wasn't about to let a fight break out in the middle of his family's living room.

"Please," Sakura said, her voice quite strained. She detached herself from Shisui, but looked a little uncertain once she did. She didn't want to move in case she lost him, but she really wanted a drink. Itachi only flashed the smallest smile she thought was humanly possible and offered her his arm. She latched onto him, now, and let him lead her away. He thought a glass of wine would do her well, not in the mood to get her too drunk.

"I seem to have lost a girlfriend," Shisui joked to the blonde. "Oh well. What's up?" He didn't think anything was off, though didn't like the fact that Itachi had stolen his date away. He probably really was just getting her a drink, but he wished she was still there beside him. It kind of made him feel powerful, having her pressed into his side like that. It made him feel like she needed protecting, though everyone knew she really didn't. It was a nice feeling nonetheless.

" _That_ was your girlfriend?" she asked rather incredulously. "I thought you would go for someone more…"

"Like you?" Shisui smirked. The woman had been attempting to find a word to describe Sakura, but Shisui cut in before she could. The blonde huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, sending a glare at Shisui.

"You know, I've been after you for a while, Shisui, how come you didn't notice me?"

"I have Ino." His face turned serious. "However, I know that you go through boyfriends like candy and the way you dress," he gestured to the low cut top and particularly short skirt, which was definitely inappropriate for such a function, "is slightly unseemly. Perhaps if you spent less time picking out what a showgirl would wear, more decent men might be attracted to you." The blonde walked away in a huff.

"Well, that was sexist," Sasuke was beside him in the next moment, watching the blonde walk away. He had seen Sakura with Itachi and therefore thought to go look into what Shisui was getting himself into. Though Sasuke expected to find him being the perfect gentleman to one of their many old aunts or uncles, he was busy snubbing a girl. It was certainly a surprise.

"How so, little cousin? Have you not realize that she has attempted to sleep with every man in this family? You think she would take a hint when none of us let her," Shisui said, disinterested. He wasn't one to be an outright asshole, but he really didn't like her. He supposed he should apologize, but didn't quite want to. Sakura was rubbing some of her personality off on him.

"I don't think I've ever heard you insult a woman's fashion choice, whether they look like a harlot or not," Sasuke commented, shrugging.

"It would not matter her fashion choice if she wasn't so despicable as a person," Shisui shrugged. "She came over to flirt, I presume, because Sakura is nowhere to be found."

"Does she get jealous?" Sasuke asked, checking his watch. It was almost seven now, meaning dinner would start soon. There was only about two hours left to this hellish dinner party and he couldn't be gladder. He couldn't really stand social situations. He, Itachi, and Sakura were all birds of a feather. They should all hang out a little more often, honestly.

"Oh, she's a jealous little thing. She just prefers to walk away rather than punch whatever offending woman in the face. It's good Itachi's taken a liking to her. In here she'd never walk away from me and would have definitely had a physical altercation with Ino."

"Oh?" Sasuke tilted his head to the right. "I never thought Itachi would take a liking to anyone." Itachi was quite hard to be friends with. Half the time Sasuke didn't want to be his brother. Shisui was just the most laid back person and could get along with anyone. They had known each other since birth as well, so perhaps Itachi was simple attached to him because of that.

"She overheard something and Itachi decided he liked her," Shisui grinned. "Like he had a choice. Sakura's not going anywhere any time soon so he has to deal with that." Sasuke only grunted. He stood beside his cousin and turned to watch the milling family members. "Have you been caught by any 'back in my day' stories yet?" Shisui asked, rather bored.

"Several," Sasuke deadpanned. "You'd think they remembered that they told you the same story seven times over the last time they were here." Shisui laughed.

"Who said their memories are good? They probably think you're still eleven, too. They still haven't figured out Itachi's secret." Hell, his parents hadn't even figured out his secret. Sasuke had known for years at this point and Shisui had figured it out the summer before tenth grade. They obviously couldn't let the rest of the family know, though.

"Itachi is best known for keeping secrets, though," Sasuke commented. "He hasn't had a relationship yet because of the nature of not being able to tell our parents. He doesn't believe there's anyone out there that would be okay with keeping it a secret. He's correct in that assumption, at least. He first has to get past mother and father knowing, but none of us know how to react." Great, now they were talking about Itachi's love life. Sasuke wondered how they got to this.

"He'll get there when he's ready," Shisui shrugged. Itachi wasn't one to sleep around, either, so this definitely was killing him just a little bit. He had kept his sexual preference a secret for twenty-four years. He had to come out with it soon before his father pushed some random girl on him and told him to marry her. Shisui hoped that didn't happen.

"Dinner's about to start. Did you want to find Sakura?"

"That would probably be best. I don't think she wants to end up next to Naruto and Hinata the entire time. Hinata's pretty patient, but I don't think she's seen Naruto in a few weeks and would rather have his attention for herself." Shisui sighed and looked around the room, hoping to catch a glimpse of bright pink hair. He didn't see any.

"Why don't you just text Itachi?" Sasuke asked, shrugging. Shisui sighed. That would probably be his best bet. He pulled out his phone and texted his cousin.

"They're in his bedroom?" Shisui blinked at his phone. "Sakura probably got upset." Sasuke trailed after him up the stairs and watched as he knocked on the door.

"She started doing odd things," Itachi said when he opened the door. "She trembled and hit my arm. I thought she could use a quiet place." Shisui smiled and nodded.

"Is she okay now?"

"No clue," Itachi looked back into his room. "Why don't you find out how she is now?" he stepped to the side. He wandered off with Sasuke, not wanting Sakura to feel uncomfortable because of an audience. Shisui stood in the doorway for a moment, watching the girl curled up in the corner of Itachi's bed. She was watching the doorway with sharp eyes.

"What's up, Sakura?" Shisui asked, sitting next to her and reaching out his hand. She didn't seem to want to come out of her little ball yet and only looked to the bed, shuffling just slightly to curl herself up tighter. He brushed his fingers down her back repeatedly, hoping she was doing better. "Want to tell me why you're upset?"

"I lost Itachi," she murmured. He almost didn't hear her as she was muffled by her hand near her mouth.

"There's no reason to freak out about that. He found you again, didn't he?" Shisui smiled and wrapped an arm around her waist, easily lifting her and pulling her onto his lap. "We can leave right after dinner if you want, alright? I know there are a lot of people here. It won't be the same tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow's Christmas eve, isn't it?" Sakura asked glumly, not wanting to look at him just yet. He was comforting her and it was making her feel rather nice, but she was still uneasy. There were still at least fifty people downstairs. She knew she was going to have to go back down there. She knew she was going to have to deal with them all. She didn't want to, but knew this was important to Shisui. He didn't want to be asked when he was going to get married either.

"Yeah, but we'll have a quiet day at home and we'll be coming here around seven. It's not that bad. You can lay in bed with me all day if that's what you want," he grinned at her. Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close for a hug. She knew she was being difficult and that this was a lot of work for some girl that he liked, but he was still doing it. It meant a lot. "Why don't we get downstairs? The sooner we do it, the sooner it will be over."

"You're right. I just don't have to like that you're right," Sakura sighed. He pulled himself off Itachi's bed and let her down from his arms. "I totally owe you for this," she sighed, looking at the ceiling and stretching her arms above her head.

"I'll have you bent over a desk later tonight," he gave her a mischievous grin.

"You're such a dickbag."

"I know, but you love it," he smiled. "Or would you rather I not do that? I could always tie you to the bed. Or hold you against the wall and have my way with you. What do you prefer?" He loved teasing her like this. As always, she just flushed and turned away from him.

"You know I'd never let you do that."

"I'll wear you down eventually," he said, stopping her before she could reach the door. He pushed her against the wall and lifted her leg, urging her to wrap it around his waist. "I do like your dress, you know," he said lowly, pressing his body to hers. He wrapped his hand around her neck and pulled her in for a kiss. She certainly felt trapped, but wasn't doing anything to stop him. "Would you say no to me doing this?" he gave her another mischievous grin and his hand darted beneath her skirt, brushing along her clothed sex.

He earned a sharp intake of breath. "Really, Shisui?" she whispered, hoping no one was on the other side of the door to walk in on them. He smirked at her and pushed her panties aside, brushing his finger along her opening. She was getting hot, he could tell that much, and she bit her lip, breathing out harshly. She wondered how he could be in such control right now as he literally was tearing her to pieces.

"Hey, you're uncomfortable. I think I should offer some stress relief." He captured her lips in another kiss, pressing his finger into her opening. She grabbed his sleeve, her nails digging into the fabric, as she let out a small whimper. He won.

He merely fingered her, thrusting at a pace he knew would get her to orgasm. She was whimpering and letting out little breathless moans, only too aware that someone would catch them. "Come on, Sakura," he whispered in her ear, "You don't want me to have to go to the next step, do you?" He pressed his thumb against her clit, moving in tight circles, and she finally came undone, sagging in his arms and breathing harshly. He grinned and pulled away from her, making sure she was on steady feet before letting her go. "A little hot and bothered there?"

"You're such a dickbag," she shot at him.

"I know, I know. I bet you feel a little bit better though, right?" he smirked at her. She didn't answer, just pouted and looked away. "Come on, miss grump, we should get downstairs before anyone starts to miss us," he said, opening the door. He was so going to get her later and she wouldn't be able to say a word. He loved when he frustrated her like this, though it did cause him frustration as well. He wanted to hear her shrieking his name, feel her in his arms. That would be for later and he was already forming a plan in his head. He wasn't kidding when he said he'd like to do those things to her.

He stopped by a bathroom to wash his hands and Sakura cleaned herself up a bit too. They didn't want anyone thinking bad things. She followed him down the stairs and had his hand in her vice grip upon getting back to the living room. To his relief, dinner was just about to start and they wouldn't pull unwanted attention to themselves by walking in the dining room a little later than everyone else.

They stood in the corner, away from everyone else, for a few minutes, before Mikoto appeared from the kitchen. "Dinner's ready, guys, why don't we get to the dining room?" Shisui waited with Sakura until all the others had filtered into the other room and finally went to go with her. He had guessed she would want to wait until all others were gone until moving.

Thankfully, Naruto had guessed she would do the same and had a couple seats next to him for them. "This dining room is flippin' huge," Sakura murmured as they walked to sit beside Naruto. How the hell did Mikoto manage to fit fifty people into one dining room? Hell, how did she manage to fit them all into one living room?

"This is the formal dining room," Shisui told her. "There's a smaller one on the other side of the kitchen. Did I tell you this house was built on Mikoto's expectations? Her husband had it built for her when they were married and since Fugaku's the patriarch, Mikoto made sure to have everything she needed for parties like this."

"That's crazy." Sakura had heard of such things happening. "I thought Sasuke and Itachi didn't move here until about a decade ago, though."

"Fugaku worked overseas much of the time," Shisui informed her. "When Sasuke and Itachi were younger, they would travel and live as a family. The company had been passed to Fugaku with the death of his father and he now has people that work those jobs for him. It helped their family, though Itachi never really recovered from not having friends when he was younger," Shisui laughed. "The only reason we're such good friends is because he would spend the most time with me when they visited."

"Oh," Sakura nodded, staring at the table. Shisui looked around, hoping the elder family members had managed to get themselves served. He knew Sakura was quite ready to just go home. She hadn't really been there all day and he wondered if her social motivation was running low.

"Are you having a good time?" Naruto asked from her other side. Hinata looked pretty happy and Shisui hoped she wouldn't be annoyed that Sakura was taking Naruto's attention again. Sakura looked up at him, slightly surprised, like she hadn't realized that he was there. Her head was in the clouds and Shisui wanted to smile, knowing why it was like that.

"It was pretty good, but recently got a bit better," Sakura smirked. Naruto looked at her, clueless. Shisui only grinned and looked at the food table again, hoping they could get dinner soon. Mikoto was sitting in her regular seat, looking tired but happy. She already had a plate of food and glass of wine, letting her husband attend to much of the conversation.

"Hey Itachi," Naruto leaned over the table, beckoning Itachi to do the same. Itachi raised a brow and hesitated to do the same. "Come on, Itachi, I have something to tell you," he whined, hoping he would give in. Itachi gave him a disinterested look. If Naruto had something private he wanted to say he could either wait or text him. Naruto sighed and fell back into his seat, pulling out his phone.

 _Neji's watching you again._

"Why do you know this?" Itachi raised a brow at Naruto. Naruto grinned and jerked his head in the direction of the quiet brunette. True to his word, Neji was watching him and Itachi didn't quite know why. He raised a brow at Naruto.

"You should talk to him," Naruto hissed across the table. Naruto was a big fan of Itachi and Neji getting together, though he didn't know for certain whether Neji really did bat for the same team or not. Neji was always watching Itachi, though, and seemed too interested in him for anything other than what Naruto thought.

"You wish for me to talk to him here?" Itachi asked, raising a brow at him. Naruto laughed sheepishly.

"Fine, fine. Just promise me you'll talk to him or I'll have Hinata slip him your number!" Itachi wanted to glare at the blond, but the line for the table up front had finally cleared. Instead of answering or glaring at him, Itachi just got up and went to serve himself. It wasn't lost on him that Neji was following closely behind. The brunette always did this for whatever reason. He liked to be near Itachi and keep his eyes on him. This had happened the last three dinner parties in a row. It certainly had come to the point where he should show the man some attention.

Shisui, meanwhile, was serving himself and Sakura. He didn't expect her to get up, knowing she would never make it with the amount of people around. He could pick and choose what she liked at this point, having figured out what she would and wouldn't eat. She loved pasta, hated broccoli. She had a tolerance to squash and loved anything that had to do with bean dip. On the upside, Mikoto often made a variety of food and variations of these things were on the table at least. Shisui had an identical looking plate just because he didn't have enough motivation to pick and choose what he wanted too. He and Sakura had similar tastes at least.

Sakura was sitting very close to him once he got back to the table. She ate silently, her arm brushing his, but she didn't move away. He was her security blanket at the moment though Naruto was on the other side of her. He didn't seem to think anything was wrong though. He was still having a pretty avid conversation with Itachi, though the older man didn't seem to interested in it. If anything Itachi was just blindly nodding along and pretty much ignoring him.

Sakura sat silently once she finished her meal, hoping this dinner would end soon. She couldn't stand to be here for much longer, but it was only around eight. She thought it a little too early to leave. Shisui left her for a moment and she didn't stop him, just wondered where he was going. She tuned into Naruto's jabbering, but he wasn't saying anything interesting either.

"Here," Shisui had come back and pushed a glass of wine into her hands. He knew she was underage, but he didn't care. He had witnessed her drink before and she could hold whatever she drank. He didn't think a glass of wine was too overboard. He would probably give her another one, anyways. Anything to get her to loosen up a bit.

"So what's your name?" There was a boy sitting across from them, triangular red tattoos on his face. Shisui knew him, but didn't want to tell Sakura who it was. She could ask herself. All he wanted to say was that the boy was a member of a prominent family and so was included in these dinner parties. Sakura probably figured this out already, seeing as he wouldn't be there otherwise.

"Sakura." She surprised Shisui by answering. She didn't say anything otherwise and the guy seemed a little downtrodden, seeing as she hadn't asked a question in answer.

"I'm Kiba. Are you from around here?"

"Yeah. I've been here since I was born." Shisui almost couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up her throat and hoped he kept enough of it down. Kiba turned his eyes to him for a split second, wondering why he had such a reaction, but turned his attention back to Sakura not long after.

"Really? What school did you go to?" If she had been around since she was born, there was no way Kiba hadn't heard of her yet. That pink hair was pretty hard to not notice and he was just confused. He had thought he knew all the people their age around here. Sakura shrugged.

"I went to West High School. I'm sure you and your friends went to East," Sakura said. Shisui nodded. He, Itachi, Sasuke, and Naruto all went to East, though Sasuke and Naruto had been there after he and Itachi had already graduated. Most of those who went to East lived on the wealthier side of town, so Shisui wasn't surprised that she had gone to the other high school.

"Oh, really?" He could see Kiba silently judging her with his eyes, trying to figure out what family she came from and how much money she had. This is what all the wealthy families did and he hated it. Yes, he was part of it, but he didn't partake in the blatant judgment of his family members and friends. He shot the younger man a warning look and he instantly stopped assessing Sakura. Sakura hadn't seemed to notice anything, or maybe she didn't care, and only took another sip of wine. Thankfully, Mikoto and a few other cousins were clearing the front table to make way for desserts.

"Where'd you grow up, if you don't mind me asking," Kiba said, watching Sakura with a keen look in his eyes. Shisui wasn't too sure of his intentions and didn't like that Sakura was talking to him now. Sakura knew he was quite jealous, almost as much as she was, but didn't pay him any heed. If anything, he would walk away, just the same as he would.

"I grew up in foster care," Sakura said blatantly, watching him with sharp eyes. He looked rather taken aback and Shisui couldn't help but laugh this time. He didn't even try to hide it. "I grew up with Naruto with a few years before we got separated." And then he got adopted and she went to that terrible house that held all those terrible memories. She had gone back once. It was now condemned and she was sure it was torn down at this point. It had been a few years at this point and the town didn't care for abandoned buildings such as those.

"Oh," Kiba didn't know what to say. "Sorry, you never would have guessed. You look very put together." Sakura fixed him with her sharp gaze again.

"Do you mean to say that I look as though I belong although I grew up near the slums?" she asked, voice as sharp as knives. Shisui thought she was dealing with the young man rather well. He got up to get her another glass of wine, knowing she would appreciate it. "Hey, Naruto," Sakura nudged him, gesturing to Kiba, "He thinks I look pretty rich even though I grew up in the poor part of town." Naruto laughed as well, though his laugh was a little nervous. He didn't like laughing at other people's expense, but sometimes he just couldn't help it. He felt bad for Kiba. He probably hadn't thought much of his words.

"Look, I didn't mean it that way," Kiba said quickly, trying to cover his words. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Sakura's not going to buy that bullshit, Kiba," Naruto laughed. "Once you say something, she's going to hold onto that forever. I hope you know that."

"So now we'll never be friends. That's kind of sad." Kiba seemed to immediately regret the words once they were out of his mouth. Sometimes he would speak without thinking and it came out far too mean and sarcastic. His mother had been attempting to curb the habit his entire life, but he just couldn't seem to give it up. To his surprise, though, Sakura began giggling. She couldn't stop.

"That is kind of sad. That was hilarious. I didn't know you were so sarcastic!" She laughed and turned a little pink in the face. Naruto was smiling at her, staring at her like she was the sun to his earth. Kiba was slightly confused. He knew Naruto had a girlfriend and Sakura seemed attached to Shisui. What was that look Naruto was giving her?

"What's kind of sad?" Shisui was back again, handing Sakura another glass of wine, which she raised in thanks. She was enjoying the wine he was bringing back for her.

"Kiba said something very sarcastic and I just couldn't help myself," she said, a glorious smile still on her face. Shisui smiled and sat beside her. Yeah, Sakura was just that way. When she found that someone said something just so sarcastic, she just couldn't help herself.

"I guess you are her friend now, Kiba," Shisui turned to the brunette to say. "Once she founds someone with a satisfactory amount of sarcasm, she now thinks you're hilarious. She finally figured out that I'm hilarious and look at us now. We're inseparable."

"Except you still piss me off, dickbag."

"Dickbag? Don't you think that's a little mean to call your boyfriend?" The blonde woman that had been talking to Shisui earlier cut in. Sakura's face immediately fell when she recognized the woman and she fell silent, almost completely turning away. Kiba seemed to notice her change in attitude and Naruto completely did. He knew Ino, had talked to her, and didn't really like her. She was the basic mean girl and he knew it.

"Well, you know, I have a few of my own choice things to call her, so it's even," Shisui said, trying to laugh the entire situation off. Ino narrowed her eyes at him.

"Your relationship seems bad," she said matter-of-factly. Sakura was getting heated beside him and he knew she was. "I mean, you two are obviously exact opposites. How do you even get along?" She better shut up soon before Sakura vaulted the table and punched her in the face. She seemed almost about to and her irritation was mounting.

"Ino, shut up," Naruto said, obviously knowing that Sakura was getting pissed off. She wasn't one to get to the point of extreme anger, but she was definitely getting there. It often happened when someone wouldn't shut up and leave her alone.

"I'm just saying. I thought your girlfriend would be less…frumpy. I thought a girlfriend of yours would be a hell of a lot nicer." Sakura stood abruptly, her face murderous. Ino shrank back slightly, realizing that she was rather angry. She thought the pink haired girl was about to punch her in the face. Instead, Sakura just walked away. Everyone that had realized what was happening heard the door slam, but no one else other than them noticed.

"Apologize to Aunt Mikoto, please," Shisui said, pulling himself up from the table. "I'm going to go home with Sakura. She's definitely too pissed off to come back inside." Naruto just nodded. Sakura was getting way too pissed off today and it was definitely time to get her home and away from everything that was pissing her off.

"So what was that about?" Shisui asked as he got into the car. Sakrua had her hands in her lap, tightly clenched. He wondered why she was so frayed today.

"It was just the last thing on the long list of things that have pissed me off today," Sakura said, glaring out the window. "If I didn't walk away, I was about to punch her in the face and I didn't think your aunt would have enjoyed that." She thought it was better that she had walked away instead of given into her impulse to hit the other woman. Shisui only nodded.

"You know, you have been a little touchier lately. What happened to the sarcasm that you throw back at people when they do things like that?" Shisui asked, starting up the car.

"I don't know," Sakura sighed. "I guess I haven't been feeling as calm lately. When I'm at peace, it's easier to come up with that stuff. When I'm all in tumult, it goes downhill and I just get angry and frustrated," she shrugged. "I'm sorry."

"Why aren't you calm?" he asked as he pulled out of the driveway.

"Well, I'm back in a town I never wanted to be in, I have to be nice in a social situation where I feel completely uncomfortable, and Naruto's parents are trying to shrink my head again. What is there to be calm about?" Sakura asked vehemently. She really wasn't in a good mood.

"I didn't think about it like that. I'm sorry," Shisui looked over at her. She wasn't looking at him, just watching the passing scenery with a bored expression. She only shrugged in response to him. Apparently she wasn't too much in the mood to talk. He hoped this behavior wouldn't repeat in the nights that followed. He was bound to get pretty annoyed if it did.

"It's fine. I'm hoping that, if tomorrow morning is relaxing, I might calm down a bit," she sighed. Shisui only nodded. He hoped Mikoto wouldn't be too upset with them come morning. He didn't know why she still invited the Ino woman if she knew all the blonde did was rag on everyone else and consistently try to pick up any Uchiha she could get her hands on. It was quite an annoying situation and he knew that if he had any less patience, he and Sakura would have been on their way home a long time ago.

"Well, let's find out then, shall we?" he asked as they pulled into the driveway. Sakura only nodded slowly and he thought she was looking pretty tired again. Before he could do or say anything else, she grabbed him by the sleeve and darted in. She pressed her lips firmly against his for a long moment and then pulled away, resting her cheek on his shoulder for a minute.

"Thanks, Shisui," she murmured. "I know it's hard to deal with me and I know it's frustrating sometimes but, really, thank you." Warmth sprouted in his chest at her words and he smiled at her, pulling her in for another sweet kiss. Though her behavior did annoy him at times, there were sweet moments like these that he craved. She was always very self aware and knew what she put him through and therefore made it her mission to show him gratitude and smother him in a little affection along the way. It certainly made her moods a little more bearable.

"Come on, let's get inside," he said softly, nudging her towards the door. She nodded and pulled herself out of the car, Shisui soon behind. He saw that she had forgotten to wear a jacket and so hurried to open the door so she wouldn't be stuck outside in the cold for very long. The last thing he wanted was for her to catch a cold.

"This doesn't feel like home," Sakura sighed, looking around as she got back into his house. It really didn't. Obviously, it reminded her of Shisui because that's all she saw in him. It was nicely furnished and the walls were painted a nice color, Sakura just couldn't get behind it all. It didn't matter much, she supposed, but she felt more like a visitor than anything else. She shook her thoughts off and pulled off her shoes, padding after Shisui up the stairs.

He didn't join her in the quick shower she took and when she got out, she found him lounging on the bed, his pajamas on. He smiled at her when he noticed her there in just a towel. She made for her duffel bag to find some pajamas, but he moved with some incredible speed and had her on the bed, towering over her, the towel somehow mysteriously vanished.

"What are you doing, dickbag?" she asked, watching him warily. She didn't know whether she should push him off or just let him do what he wanted. She wasn't too hot and bothered by what had happened earlier, but she knew he probably was. She was a little too tired for his idea of lovemaking though.

As her mind was distracted by such thoughts, he leaned down and pressed his mouth against hers. She answered his kiss, but didn't do much else. He wasn't looking for sex anyways. His mind had lit up with the idea of her naked body pressed against his all night.

"I just thought I'd like to have you naked and pressed against me for the foreseeable future," he said, grinning, as he collapsed by her side and pulled her close to him. He was tired after cooking and dealing with Sakura all day. He didn't mind it though. She was being perfectly sweet right now and it felt as though the sun was shining on him.

"If I have to be naked, you do too, Shisui," Sakura pouted, turning to him. He grinned at her.

"How could I say no to such a pretty woman?" He pulled himself up and pulled his own clothes off, letting them fall off the side of the bed. He laid back down beside her and pulled her close again. She fit right in where she was supposed to and smiled contentedly. He brought the laptop close to her and played a movie for her.

As he fell asleep, she found herself thinking. Thinking that she should tell him about her nightmares and why she couldn't sleep. Thinking about how she should try her best to do something for him even if it makes her uncomfortable. Thinking about how long this could possibly last. The last thought made her squeeze her eyes shut and turn to Shisui's chest, pressing herself close to him. He woke up for a moment, only to pull her closer and curve his body ever so slightly more around hers. She didn't like thinking that. She liked being with him and he liked being with her.

She didn't know if she was going to get sleep tonight, but she doubted it.

* * *

 **Yep.**


End file.
